LANGLEY, British Columbia, 23 August, 12 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Conservative MP Mark Warawa (Langley, BC) has come out in support of MP Steven Woodworth’s (Kitchener-Centre) private member’s Motion 312 that would establish a special committee to examine a 400 year old portion of Canada’s Criminal Code that states that a child is not a human being until the moment of complete birth. At the same time, Warawa, who identifies himself as “pro-life” has affirmed his support for Prime Minister Harper’s position of avoiding the “issue of abortion”.
“We have right here in Canada a 400 year old definition that a person does not become a human being until the point of complete birth,” said Warawa last week in a video stating his reasons for supporting Woodworth’s motion. “Does that meet scientific evidence? Should the definition of a human being… should that begin maybe before complete birth?”
Warawa believes that the time has come for Canadians to “take a new fresh look” at the unborn child inside a mother’s womb. “Should Parliament take a look at this topic? Absolutely. I’ll be supporting that motion at the end of September.”
Warawa, who has been given a “pro-life, pro-family” rating from Campaign Life Coalition told LifeSiteNews that while he has been “pro-life for years” – even speaking at the 2010 March for Life in Ottawa – he nonetheless supports the “government position” to not introduce the “issue of abortion”.
“Canadians want us to focus on the economy,” he said, reflecting a similar statement that he made to the Langley Advance three years ago.
Warawa explained how he could both support Woodworth’s motion and Harper’s position at the same time.
“Steven Woodworth has introduced a motion as a private member. The tradition – and the Conservative Party policy – is that motions and bills of an ethical nature are dealt with by each member having a free vote. So the government has made it very clear that they won’t be introducing anything, but that is the whole purpose of a private member’s bill or a private member’s motion. That’s why we have those. So, the government has been consistent.”
But pro-life MP Brad Trost has pointed out that Harper’s “ironclad” control over Conservative MPs has effectively shut down even debates on private members’ bills and motions regarding public policy that remotely touches on the issue of abortion.
Prime Minister Harper has been adamant since being elected in 2006 that his government will oppose any attempt to debate abortion, with the result that pro-life MPs have effectively had to openly defy their leader in order to bring forward abortion-related legislation.
“This government will not open, will not permit anyone to open the abortion debate. Our position is clear,” Harper said in 2008.
Harper has already pledged to vote against Motion 312 when it comes up for a vote this September.
When Opposition Leader Thomas Mulcair of the New Democrats charged that Harper allowed Woodworth’s private members motion to go forward as an attempt to signal his pro-life support to the Tories’ social conservative base, Harper replied: “Every private member can table bills and motions in this House. Party leaders don’t have any control over that. … This particular motion was deemed votable by an all-party committee of the House. I think that’s unfortunate. In my case I will be voting against the motion.”
Despite almost 20,000 people at the 2012 March for Life in the nation’s capital showing their willingness to reopen the abortion debate, Warawa senses that many Canadians remain “apathetic” on the issue of rights for the unborn but says that things are beginning to change.
He pointed out that most Canadians are shocked to discover that there are no protections under the law for the unborn at any stage of pregnancy. “Canada is why out of sync with the rest of the world and Canadians don’t realize that. Canadians make assumptions that we have protection in at least the last trimester, but we have no protection. We have the same policy as North Korea.”
In 1988, the Supreme Court of Canada overturned Canada’s abortion law in the R. v. Morgentaler decision, leaving the matter of abortion in a legal vacuum. The Supreme Court urged Parliament at the time to pass new abortion legislation, which Parliament has yet to address. Canada having no abortion law has effectively made unborn babies ‘open season’ year round for any reason whatsoever.
“Canadians are shocked to find out that we are not meeting any international standards,” said Warawa. “So some are asking that Parliament debate the issue. I am hoping that as more and more Canadians are aware of the issue, there will be a groundswell asking Parliament to deal with this issue.”
Warawa mentioned that he was “surprised” to hear the Canadian Medical Association recently voted to support the wording of the country’s Criminal Code which states that a baby becomes a “human being” only after being born.
“I think they’ve made a decision based on politics, not based on science,” he said, adding that “the doctors have made a political decision for Canada to maintain a North Korean standard, which is shocking to Canadians when it is pointed out.”
Warawa said that if Canadians want Parliament to deal with the issue of abortion, then “there has to be a groundswell asking for that.”
“There is a sense of a groundswell beginning, but I think that if Canadians want Parliament to deal with this issue, there is going to have to be a lot more calls for this. And also Canadians calling members of Parliament across the country to support Steven Woodworth’s motion.”
“Unfortunately, I am not sensing that yet.”
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