OTTAWA (LifeSiteNews) — Campaign Life Coalition National President Jeff Gunnarson today pleaded on the steps of the Supreme Court of Canada for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to finally work with Parliament to pass laws protecting pre-born children – 35 years after the 1988 R v. Morgentaler decision stripped away all rights of the unborn.
In the event, which was livestreamed by CLC, Gunnarson can be seen standing in front of the Supreme Court building as pro-lifers hold signs behind him to voice their support.
“Dear Prime Minister,” began Gunnarson, “Saturday, January 28 marks 35 years since the Supreme Court of Canada handed down a decision that has impacted, and continues to impact, the lives of millions of Canadians.”
“In the 1988 R v. Morgentaler decision, our country’s top court threw out the previous 1969 abortion law, put in place by your father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, deeming it ‘unconstitutional.’ The majority opinion was that the procedural requirements for an abortion violated a woman’s Charter right to ‘security of the person,’ though two of the seven justices dissented,” lamented the pro-life leader.
“The ruling, which was rife with faults, effectively removed every obstacle barring pregnant mothers from obtaining an abortion. This allowed mothers to kill their preborn children at any stage during the pregnancy, for any reason at all. And, sadly, millions of Canadian mothers have chosen to destroy the new human lives growing and developing inside of them.”
During the reading of the letter, Gunnarson explained that unlike the U.S. Supreme Court’s now-overturned Roe v. Wade decision, Canada’s R v. Morgentaler did not enshrine abortion as a “right,” and in fact, the justices on the court at the time were “unanimous in finding that the state has an interest in protecting the lives of humans in the womb.”
“The Supreme Court justices did not want the Canada we live in today when it comes to abortion,” outlined Gunnarson, quoting then-Chief Justice Brian Dickson and Justice Antonio Lamer, who wrote concurrently: “Like [Justice Jean] Beetz and [Justice Bertha] Wilson, I agree that protection of foetal interests by Parliament is also a valid governmental objective.”
Noting that the majority of the opinion of the court ruled that the “solution” to the “abortion question” must “be left to Parliament,” Gunnarson lamented the fact that “Parliament has yet to honor the Supreme Court’s invitation that it pass legislation protecting life in the womb.”
“Prime Minister,” Gunnarson pleaded. “I call upon you and upon Parliament to follow the invitation of the Supreme Court and pass legislation protecting children in the womb. Such legislation must reflect what science and medical advancements reveal to us about life in the womb, namely, that it is a fully human life. Such legislation, if it is to truly remedy the current wrongs suffered by preborn humans, must restore their legal protection from the first moment of their existence.”
“It has been said that a nation will be judged by how it treats its most vulnerable members,” he continued. “Prime Minister, I present to you the preborn human child, the most vulnerable among us. These smallest members of the human family are waiting on you and on Parliament to act on their behalf. I ask you, please, stand up for them.”
“God bless you, and God bless Canada,” Gunnarson concluded.
At the end of the livestream, it was announced that Gunnarson will be walking to Parliament today to hand deliver his letter, which is now available in full for public viewing.
In addition to Trudeau, the letter is copied to Pierre Poilievre, leader of the Conservative Party of Canada; Yves-François Blanchet, leader of the Bloc Québécois; Jagmeet Singh, leader of the New Democratic Party; and Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party of Canada.
As it stands, all the above leaders of the major political parties support maintaining the status-quo on abortion in Canada.