Politics
Thursday March 6, 2008
See today's LifeSiteNews stories
The Four Conservatives Who Voted Against the Unborn Victims of Crime Act
By John-Henry Westen
OTTAWA, March 6, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper stood yesterday in the House of Commons to cast his vote in favour of the Unborn Victims of Crime Act. Bill C-484, which passed second reading in the Commons yesterday, was put forward as a Private Members Bill by Conservative MP Ken Epp. Most of Epp's Conservative colleagues supported his bill; however, four Conservatives opposed the measure.
The bill is a response to repeated calls from the families of murdered pregnant women - and from the public at large - to recognize unborn children as crime victims when they are injured or killed during the commission of an offence against their mothers. Voluntary abortion or any act or omission by the mother are specifically exempted in the legislation.
An Environics poll released in October 2007 found that 72% of Canadians - 75% of women - would support "legislation making it a separate crime to injure or kill a foetus during an attack on the mother."
Even among those Canadians who support unrestricted abortion for the full nine months of pregnancy, 55% support "legislation making it a separate crime to injure or kill a foetus during an attack on the mother."
Despite these figures four Conservative MPs voted against the measure, including:
Gordon O'Connor of Carleton-Mississippi Mills in Ontario
Lawrence Cannon of Pontiac in Québec
Sylvie Boucher of Beauport-Limoilou in Québec
Josée Verner of Louis-Saint-Laurent in Québec
Two of the four are Conservative Cabinet Ministers who also fought traditional marriage and voted to alter the definition of marriage. Cannon is Transportation Minister and Verner is Minister of International Cooperation. Verner, a staunchly pro-abortion and pro-euthanasia MP, was known as 'Quebec's impoverished Belinda Stronach'.
While all the Bloc Quebecois MPs voted against the measure, one Member of the NDP - Peter Stoffer of Sackville-Eastern Shore in Nova Scotia - voted to support the bill.
Polling has shown that among voters, the legislation is supported across party lines: 77% of Conservative supporters, 71% of Liberal, 71% of the Bloc Quebecois, 67% of the Green Party, and 66% of the NDP supporters are in favour of "legislation making it a separate crime to injure or kill a foetus during an attack on the mother."
Back to TopSHARE THIS STORY: E-mail Print Newsvine Digg Reddit Del.icio.us Facebook
Latest Headlines
- UK Bishops’ Document on Homosexuality Praised by Prominent Anti-Catholic Homosexualist
- Interview: "The Proposed Coalition Government is Very Very Scary" Says Canadian Pro-Life Leader
- Abortionist Pleads No Contest to Felonies, Faces up to 10 Years in Jail
- Catholic Bishop: "Go Right Ahead and Arrest Me" Rather than Obey Freedom of Choice Act
- Abortion Linked to Disproportionately High Rate of Black Premature Births
- Bush Interview: "I Didn't Sell my Soul for Politics"
- Unprecedented Restrictions Placed on Religious, Political Clubs at Lakehead University
- Franklin Graham, Son of Billy Graham, at California Megachurch: "Abortion is Murder"
- Author of French "Right to Die" Law Opposes Efforts to Legalize Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia
- Life Prizes Announces Winners of $600,000 Pro-Life Award
- Homosexualist Catholic University Students Join Protest against True Marriage
- Letters to the Editor for Tuesday, December 2, 2008
- Purchase of Christmas Music CD By Pro-Life Priest is Great Way to Support LifeSiteNews
Most Read this Week
- Behind the Scenes of Volition: Coincidences and Startling Circumstances
- Ad Showing Woman Seducing Santa Promotes Free Morning-After Pills and Condoms for Christmas
- Belgian Couple Sells Baby on EBay
- Leading Canadian Pro-Life MP Relates Shocking 20 Year Lack of Support From Catholic Clergy
- Naming the Anti-Life Appointments in the Obama Administration
- Cardinal on Biblical Condemnation of Homosexuality: We're Not Allowed the Cowardice of "Politically Correct" Silence
- Film Review: Volition
- A Painful, Disease-Ridden Death Isn’t So Bad if You’re Just a White, Heterosexual Male
- Just In Time for Christmas - Gift Cards for Abortions from Planned Parenthood
- Abortion Now Number One Cause of Death in Spain
MORE NEWS: 
LifeSiteNews.com Home Page Last 10 Days Archives Special Reports
Copyright © LifeSiteNews.com. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License. You may republish this article or portions of it without request provided the content is not altered and it is clearly attributed to "LifeSiteNews.com". Any website publishing of complete or large portions of original LifeSiteNews articles MUST additionally include a live link to www.LifeSiteNews.com. The link is not required for excerpts. Republishing of articles on LifeSiteNews.com from other sources as noted is subject to the conditions of those sources.