July 13, 1999
For Immediate Delivery
ISN’T IT TIME THE FETUS HAD SOME RIGHTS TOO?
"The law needs to reflect the duty of care owed by a Mother to her unborn child."
Yorkton—Since 1993, Garry Breitkreuz, M.P. for Yorkton-Melville, has fought to put a stop to federal funding for medically unnecessary abortions. Today, he announced his most recent effort to protect the rights of all unborn children in Canada. "Last week’s ruling by the Supreme Court denying a severely disabled child the right to sue his Mother for injuries, she was responsible for, was the last straw," declared Breitkreuz. "This fall I plan to introduce a Private Member’s Bill in Parliament that will strengthen legal protection for unborn children in Canadian law."
"The government uses their ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child to justify all kinds of government intrusion into the rights and responsibilities of parents. However, when it comes to enforcing protection for the unborn, also clearly stated in the Convention, the government fails to discharge its fundamental responsibility." Breitkreuz is referring to the statement on page two of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states that "the child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth."
"This most recent Supreme Court decision as well as the 1997 ruling in which the court sided with a Winnipeg Mother who objected to being forced into a drug treatment program to protect the health of her unborn child, prove that unborn children have no rights whatsoever in Canada. Isn’t it time the fetus had some rights too?" asked Breitkreuz.
"The law needs to be changed to reflect the duty of care owed by a Mother to her unborn child." Dissenting Supreme Court Justices Major and Bastarche stated, "No jurisprudence was advanced that would negate a pregnant woman’s legal responsibility for negligent acts against her born alive child where the effects of those acts are reasonably foreseeable and where they might violate the physical integrity of a legal person."
"Not only do Mothers have a moral obligation to their unborn children, they should also have a legal obligation. This legal obligation needs to be clearly defined in the legislation. On behalf of unborn children across Canada, I intend to take up this challenge to improve protection of their fundamental right to life and security of the person in Canadian law. I urge everyone with strongly held views on this subject to write me with their recommendations for this new law to protect unborn Canadians,"
-30-
For more information, please call:
Yorkton Office: (306) 782-3309
Ottawa Office: (613) 992-4394
e-mail: breitg@parl.gc.ca