OTTAWA, September 26, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The federal Liberal government is hopping mad that it has not been able to strong-arm passage of its flawed Human Reproduction Act, bill C-13.
The omnibus legislation, which falsely claims to ban cloning and allows human embryos to be created for experimentation and other horrors, is being fought by a coalition of MPs concerned about human life and scientific integrity. Opposition from numerous back-bench Liberals and the other parties has caused the Government concern that the bill would not pass, and thus, insiders have revealed, a final vote on C-13 has been repeatedly put off.
However, Health Minister Anne McLellan seems to have just recently forged a deal with the socialist NDP Party. NDP MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis, who has led her party's opposition to C-13, told the Globe and Mail that she has recommended to her caucus that it “reluctantly support this bill.” McLellan assuaged the NDP concern that there be an equal number of men and women on the agency being set up to oversee the new reproductive technology legislation. In a letter to the NDP Member McLellan wrote: “Though I cannot make a binding commitment on future Ministers of Health, I can assure you that I have instructed my department to ensure that consultations with individual women and women's organizations are extensive and that there is a sufficient number of female candidates of the highest quality put forward.”
Karen Murawsky, Public Affairs Director for Campaign Life Coalition (CLC) commented on the deal saying, “The Government lost the argument on the legislation, it remains fatally flawed, and now they are resorting to their dirty bag of political tricks to try to pass it. I simply found it disgusting that the NDP made a deal on human life – we don't compromise on human life.” Mary-Ellen Douglas, National Coordinator for CLC echoed the comments saying, “This is bad legislation, and most MPs know that. Bill C-13 must not pass, and we stand behind the people with the courage and integrity to fight this bill.”
Liberal MP, Paul Szabo, who has become an expert in the field and written a book on the subject, is leading the opposition to C-13. During a key speech Szabo pointed out that if the bill were split and the banning of cloning and some of the other reprehensible practices were put into a separate bill, it would pass the House in one day.
However, the government has refused to split the legislation. Political analysts posit that the government is intentionally maintaining the universally agreed upon bans within the controversial omnibus bill in an attempt to force through the objectionable aspects of the bill such as allowing destructive research on human embryos, allowing the culling of aborted baby body parts for research and more.
The temptation being thrown at MPs opposed to C-13 by some political, academic and even religious representatives is to cool the opposition and accept that “If we don't pass this bill then we will be one of the only countries in the world not to regulate in this area.”
Pro-life leaders are overjoyed that Paul Szabo, Rob Merrifield and company have courageously withstood the government for so many months, given the government a level of opposition it has rarely experienced, brought into the House debates of unusual depth and principle and continue to ignore the faithless pragmatists who are always ready to give up a tough fight and principles that should never be compromised.