RE: M-312 Vote for Clarity in the Law
Dear Member of Parliament,
We urge you to vote for clarity in the law.
Tomorrow you will vote on Motion No. 312, which proposes a study of Canada’s legal definition of ‘human being’. It is this definition which has determined who is and is not protected under much Canadian law, even beyond the Criminal Code.
The ‘entity’ in the mother’s womb, though identified as a “child” in subsection 223(1), is not considered a “human being” until it has “completely proceeded…from the body of its mother.”
Do you believe that this is a fair and final assessment of who is ‘human’ in Canada?
If you already believe that human life starts at some point prior to complete birth, The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada urges you to vote your conscience – vote ‘yes’ to M-312 and the study it proposes.
If you don’t believe life starts prior to birth or if you are unsure, we urge you to reconsider your position and take some time to review helpful indicators in order to make an informed decision tomorrow. Look at an ultrasound picture of a young loved one. Review some medical books available online which include language like “The zygote thus formed represents the beginning of a new life” (Biological Principles and Modern Practice of Obstetrics). Then vote on the side of caution, and support this motion which would provide you the opportunity to examine the issue further. Perhaps, consider offering yourself to sit on the committee that is proposed in the motion.
Motion No. 312 won’t change the law, restrict abortion access or grant personhood to the child in the womb. It will permit Parliament, in leadership of our country, to examine – in the setting of a committee that may make non-binding recommendations for change or to retain the status quo – a key definition upon which Canadian human rights are determined.
There are few opportunities in Parliament in which your voice, and your conscientious vote, can be heard on a matter so foundational to our understanding of humanity, rights and life itself. So let your voice be heard in the Parliamentary tradition of a free vote on private members’ business. Let’s have a full and robust Parliamentary discussion on who is human.
Sincerely,
Don Hutchinson
Vice- President, General Legal Counsel
The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada