Personhood of the Child in the Womb
What makes a person a person??
Is a person a human being?
Is personhood determined by our DNA?
Is it determined by our blood type?
Is it determined by individual fingerprints?
What would it take to make each baby a person in the womb?
If abortion was not lawful, would the baby in the womb be considered a person?
Let's have a look at personhood of the child in the womb according to the law in Canada
Abortion: THEN — personhood upheld;
In 1803, due to the increased medical knowledge of the baby in the womb, Lord Attenborough’s Act stated that abortion was a crime because of the intent to destroy the “lives of his Majesty’s subjects”.
In 1861, Offenses Against the Person Act reiterated that the woman as well as the doctor could be held accountable whether the abortion occurred before or after quickening.
Abortion: NOW -- personhood denied
In 1988, the ‘security of the person’ for the woman was confirmed by the Supreme Court, but not so for the unborn child. (but are not some of these children female?)
The 1988 Law Reform Commission “Crimes against the Foetus” stated it would be a crime to harm a child in the womb, except for abortion which could be lawfully performed at any time in the pregnancy if the unborn has a “lethal defect.”
In Canada "a child becomes a human being within the meaning of this Act when it has completely proceeded, in a living state, from the body of its mother whether or not:
' a) it has breathed (question: if the baby is not breathing, what does the Act mean by 'in a living state?')
b) it has independent circulation, or
c) the navel string is severed." (Canadian Criminal Code)
In March, 2001, Garry Breitkreuz MP (Yorkton-Melville, ON) brought in a Private Member's Bill to address the lack of recognizing the personhood of the Canadian unborn. However, a counter argument by Diane Bourgeois MP (Terrebonne-Blainville, PQ) noted that neither the Canadian Constitution nor the International Convention confer on an embryo the right to life. The Bill was defeated.
2007 Unborn Victims of Violence—Bill C484 Ken Epp, MP, introduced a private members bill in the House of Commons “which, if passed into law, will ensure that unborn children who are victimized as a result of their mother’s murder will be recognized by our courts.” The legislation does not curtail abortion which is not an offence in Canadian law. It “supports grieving families and recognizes that if someone has taken away the life of an unborn child against the mother’s will, legal sanctions must be in place for that violation.” (Ken Epp, National Post—Nov. 27, 2007)
The Bill was defeated.