Motion 312 - Studying Canada's Definiton of a Human Being
At the beginning of October, the Quebec Life Coalition is privileged to welcome the Honourable Mr. Stephen Woodworth. The Member for Parliament for Kitchener Center will be providing the keynote address at our annual congress on October 6. Below you will find some background information regarding his pro-life work in Parliament. It is provided by the archdiocese of Toronto. Enjoy.
In our political system in Canada, many proposed laws (bills/motions, etc.) are prepared and crafted for consideration. They help shape the country that we are, guide how our nation is governed and illustrate the way of life that Canadians are known for around the world.
Most pieces of legislation are presented by a governing political party. Some are supported across party lines and votes take place to determine whether such a proposal will become law.
Private members bills have a very different trajectory. Proposed by a single member of a party not part of the cabinet, they are often not approved or endorsed by fellow members of the party. They very rarely pass into law yet provide an opportunity for elected members to bring forward ideas for discussion and dialogue.
When it comes to pro-life legislation in Canada, all mainstream parties identify the issue as a political hot potato and steer clear of it in general terms. It's an interesting contrast to the American political system where the discussion around abortion and right to life was front and centre in recent Republican and Democratic conventions in very different ways.
Motion 312 is currently before Canada's Parliament, tabled by Kitchener-Center Member of Parliament, Stephen Woodworth. It's defined as "studying Canada's definition of a human being." If you read the motion, it's a relatively straight forward proposal, asking for a review of Canada's Criminal Code that states a child becomes a human being only at the moment of birth.
As Catholics, we firmly believe that life begins at the moment of conception. Yet our criminal code seems to suggest otherwise. Motion 312 provides an opportunity for us to affirm that belief, to dialogue with our elected representatives and respectfully express our views to them.
There are many within the Catholic community, people of other faiths and no faith at all that have been working on life issues for decades, trying to re-open the debate and determine the best way to move pro-life legislation forward in our country.
While not prepared by the Archdiocese of Toronto, some facts and background information on Motion 312 have been prepared by concerned Catholics. Below you'll find some of this information along with suggestions on how to voice your opinion to your local MP (thanks to Diana Reynolds for sending the resources along).
In an increasingly secular environment, it takes real courage for politicians to table legislation that promotes life at all stages. It's certainly not for political gain. Quite the opposite. They are often ridiculed or stereotyped, sometimes relegated to the back benches and dismissed as radical, divisive or trying to push their morality as part of an "agenda".
It's time we start having the discussion. Every one of us was carried in the womb until our birth. We didn't have a voice then. We have one now. Let's use it.
Motion 312 - When Am I Human?
What is Motion 312 about?
Motion 312 calls for the creation of a special committee in the Parliament to review the definition in Canadian law that a child becomes a human being only at the moment of complete birth.
Section 223 of the Criminal Code of Canada uses a definition of human being which is at least 400 years old. Canada borrowed this law from British common law, where it can be dated back to as early as 1642.
Section 223 (1) of the Criminal Code states that "a child becomes a human being when it has fully proceeded, in a living state, from the body of its mother..." Therefore if a toe is still left in the birth canal, that child is not considered a human being yet and therefore has no human rights in Canada.
Apart from a declining number of US States, only three other countries in the world now share Canada's refusal to recognize or protect the interests of children as human beings until the moment of complete birth: China, Vietnam, and North Korea.[1] The Motion is scheduled for parliamentary debate on Friday September 21, 2012 at 1:30 pm ET and the final vote will be held on Wednesday September 26, 2012. Both the debate and the vote can be viewed on your local CPAC television channel or by visiting www.cpac.ca for a live podcast.
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Where Can I Learn More About Motion 312?
Kitchener Centre MP (Federal) Stephen Woodworth introduced Motion 312. Please see his website for the full text of the Motion: http://www.stephenwoodworth.ca/canadas-400-year-old-definition-of-human-being/motion-312.
Since abortion was decriminalized in Canada, over 3 million abortions have been performed. Almost 1 in every 4 pregnancies in the country ends in abortion. For more information about abortion in Canada see: http://www.campaignlifecoalition.com/shared/media/editor/file/AbortionFactSheet-CLC.pdf.
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How Can I Support the Motion?
If you would like to see ‘human being’ defined according to current medical evidence, make your voices heard before September 26th. To support Motion 312, you can:
Sign a petition and collect signatures
Print out a copy of the petition form at: http://weneedalaw.ca/images/woodworth.pdf.
Completed petitions should be submitted to your Member of Parliament (MP) or to Kitchener Centre MP Stephen Woodworth.
Meet with your Member of Parliament to express your views
Approaching your MP may seem daunting. Consider these tips and discussion points for the meeting: http://weneedalaw.ca/index.php/resources/tipsforaproductivevisitwithyoump.
Write a letter to your Member of Parliament
Create your own letter or use a template. For ideas about what to write, see sample letters at the following websites:
- http://www.letters4life.ca/form-letters.php
- http://weneedalaw.ca/index.php/simplemail/sm4-motion-312
- http://www.evangelicalfellowship.ca/page.aspx?pid=7724
Letters can be sent to your MP, the Minister of Justice and the Prime Minister. Mail can be sent postage-free to any Member of Parliament at the House of Commons address:
Name of Member of Parliament, House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0A6
Not sure who is the Member of Parliament for your riding?
You can search by postal code, using this government website: http://parl.gc.ca/ParlInfo/Compilations/HouseOfCommons/MemberByPostalCod....
Be the first to comment.Let's Stop the Pretense
"Let's Stop the Pretense" is a new website begun in support of Motion 312, the private member bill posited by Parliament's representative for Kitchener Centre, Mr. Stephen Woodworth, this past Winter, 2012.
Its home page contrasts the facts of fetal development with the pretense, the lie within Canada's Criminal Code. The rest of the site develops this point under four headings.
First, the context of this motion is clarified. "Motion 312 was presented by MP Stephen Woodworth on February 6, 2012. It proposes that a committee of the House review medical evidence, to determine whether or not a child is a human being before birth, and to address the potential impact on Canada's Criminal Code. The motion received its first hour of debate in the House of Commons on April 26, 2012, and will be debated again on September 21st (subject to change)." The full motion can be read here.
Next there is a section on fetal development, presenting a timeline of the child's growth from conception through to the 28th week. Also, you will find a 6-minute video and a couple of links for additonal information about fetal development.
Another tab is pro-active. "Contact Your MP" presents two ways for you to act so as to have you member of Parliament know your view - by phone and/or snail-mail form letters.
The final tab, "Blog", presents an argumentative essay criticizing Section 223 of Canada's Criminal Code, labelling as a lie, a pretense. It also invites readers to post a response.
Be the first to comment.Quebecers Vote - Finding out Who Your Candidates Are?
Quebecers will be heading to the polls this September 4th.
In a previous blog, Quebec Life Coalition President, Mr. Georges Buscemi, outlined four key questions that electors should ask their local candidates to help them decide for whom to vote.
In an effort to help you identify your local candidates, I have brought the following resources together.
1. The Director General of the Elections (DGEQ) A good starting point is the website of the Director General of the Elections. This will allow you to identify your riding, by simply inputing your postal code.
Second, knowing your riding, you can then access a handy table, click here, to learn more about your riding including who the candidates are.
If you wish to contact the DGEQ, their toll-free number is 1-888-353-2846.
2. Go for a Walk. A second way to learn who the local candidates are is to go for a walk. This past Saturday, while doing errands, I noticed that the Liberal Party of Quebec had already hoisted several campaign signs containing the picture and name of their local candidate.
3. Contact the Parties: Finally, as political parties and candidates have until August 18th to submit their candidature, a third way to learn who your local candidates are is to contact the parties directly. Here are the contacts for the major parties:
- Liberal Party of Quebec:1-800-361-1047;
- Parti Québecois: 1-800-363-9531;
- Québec solidaire: 1-866-278-9014;
- Coalition Avenir du Québec: 1-866-416-2960;
- Conservative Party of Quebec: (514) 433-0500;
- Unité Nationale Party: (819) 731-3296; and
- Objectif Vie Québec Party: (remains unlisted)
Case Study: Riding of St. Laurent
As electoral boundaries are prone to shifting, it may be prudent to check with the DGEQ. Here, on entering my postal code, I was immediately told what I expected; that my riding is St-Laurent.
While on with this site, I then sought out to learn who my candidates were. Unfortunately, I came away no wiser. None of the parties had yet registered.
I then decided to contact individually the various parties. Above noted above, I had seen electoral signs for the local liberal candidate - Mr. Jean-Marc Fournier.
As for the Parti Québecois, the Québec solidaire, and CAQ candidates, I phoned and emailed these to find answers.
- PQ: Mr. Roger Gagnon;
- QS: Ms. Marie-Josèphe Pigeon - (514) 743-8343;
- CAQ: Mr. Georges Manolikakis
The remaining two parties have yet to nominate a candidate.
Next week, I will report on what success I have had in contacting the individual candidates and what response they have given regarding the four pivotal questions.
Be the first to comment.40 Days for Life: Summary of Results
This September, the Quebec Life Coalition will be hosting its eighth "Forty 40 for Life" prayer vigil. This is a forty consecutive days of praying and fasting for the end of abortion. We will be joined by several hundred other vigils, worldwide. Over the previous campaigns, some astonishing records have resulted worldwide. The following is a synopsis of some of these figures. Stay tuned to our website to learn how you can be involved. The vigil begins Wednesday, September 26, 2012.
Summary of Results – 2007-2012
There have now been ten coordinated 40 Days for Life campaigns since 2007, mobilizing people of faith and conscience in 440 cities across the United States and Canada, plus cities in Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Belize, Denmark, England, Georgia, Germany, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Poland, Puerto Rico and Spain.
During these unified efforts, participants witnessed countless blessings from God:
- 1,894 individual campaigns have taken place in 440 cities in 14 countries
- More than 525,000 have joined together in a historic display of unity to pray and fast for an end to abortion
- More than 15,000 church congregations have participated in a 40 Days for Life campaign
- Reports document 5,928 lives that have been spared from abortion – and those are just the ones we know about
- 69 abortion workers have quit their jobs and walked away from the abortion industry
- 23 abortion facilities completely shut down following local 40 Days for Life campaigns
- Hundreds of women and men have been spared from the tragic effects of abortion, including a lifetime of regrets
- More than 2,100 news stories have been featured in newspapers, magazines, radio shows and TV programs from coast to coast… and overseas
- Many people with past abortion experiences have stepped forward to begin postabortion healing and recovery
After so many years of legalized abortion, many people of faith are experiencing a renewed sense of HOPE!
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Invitation: Annual Corn Roast
All are invited to our
Annual Corn Roast
Saturday, August 18, 2012
beginning at 12h00
at the rear of Saint-Emile Church
(3330, Rivier street, Montréal, H1W 3Z9).
Rain or shine.
(We hope to be outdoors,
but in the case of rain we can move indoors).
The charge is 10$ for adults, free for children 12 and under.
Our menu will be:
- Corn on the Cob – all you can eat;
- Coleslaw;
- Coffee and Juice;
- Sponge cake garnished with small fruits.
If you are thinking of coming,
please let us know by calling us at (514) 344-2686.
I hope to see many of you.
Be the first to comment.Did you know ...
To date this year, Campagne Québec-Vie has posted nearly 20 000 bulletins and distributed more than 3000 letters to houses and churches in Québec. Below, we see, in the first photo piled our conference table nearly 2000 envelopes ready for distribution, door-to-door by a team of young volunteers (2nd photo) lead by Brian Jenkins (1st on the left), one of our employees.
Be the first to comment.Gestational Laws: 2 Articles
Over the past month, I have heard much discussion about gestational laws. A couple of articles have come my way that I have found interesting on this issue. I hope you do also. Here they are.
In the first article, we find the testimony of a former advocate of gestational laws who regrets his earlier involvement. In the second we read abut the Catholic Church's position on it. Enjoy.
Be the first to comment.Newsletter for August 2012: Are Quebecers Heading to the Ballot Boxes?
Dear friends of life,
As you read this newsletter, Premier Jean Charest has most likely called an election, an election to be held in early September, 2012 : so, we find ourselves in election mode!
Under such circumstances, the question arises: what is our role - either at the Quebec Life Coalition or individually, at this time ?
Your role is to inform us as to the positions taken by your local candidates on the issues that matter to us, and then pass this information on to us - (514) 344-2686, so that we may then disseminate these views as widely as possible, thereby informing the largest number of persons of what the candidates are saying.
What should we be asking our candidates? Here are the four main questions.
- Are you in favour of or apposed to the public funding of abortion in Québec ? We support every candidate who opposes such financing . (Currently in Quebec, abortion may be procurred at any moment during the pregnancy and for any reason or no reason at all, fully payable by our tax dollars – a travesty to say the least !)
- Are you in favour of or or opposed to the legalization of euthanasia in Québec ? (The Quebec attorney general is currently searching for ways to circumvent the Canadian Criminel Code in order to permit euthanasia in Québec. We support every candidate who defends those citizens vulnerable to this euthanasia legislation, who are opposed to the legalization of murder "with compassion".
- Do you believe that it is the right and duty of the parents - and not the state - to provide moral and spiritual education to their children and that the parents have the right to delegate this responsibility to a school whose orientation matches their own ? (Once this right is recognized, gone is the obligation to follow the ECR course and dubious sex education courses.)
- Do you believe that parents should be able to care for their children at home, that is to say, to directly receive the funds currently allocated by the government for placing children in public daycare?
Thank you for asking these questions to the candidates within your riding and then relaying their answers to us so that we may inform all of our members and our thousand of Internet readers - i.e., Facebook and on our website.
Finally, your last duty is to vote for the candidate who follows closely your pro-life and pro-family convictions. If and only if your evaluation of the candidates is inconclusive, then you should choose the best party (contact us for more info on this). Let's all set aside partisan affiliation, and focus on the most pressing issues, those noted above, that transcend the usual divisions. Wishing one and all the best election!
Georges Buscemi, President
(Translated by Brian Jenkins)
Be the first to comment.Has abortion led to fewer crimes?
Reading Mario Roy in last Friday's Lapresse one would think so.
His commentary focusses upon the diminishing trend in crime not only in Canada but also across North America. In so doing, he quotes from the American study by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner entitled Freakonomics (2005).
He writes:
According to the authors (i.e., Levitt and Dubner) it is the decision in Roe v Wade (The US spereme Court ruling) legalising abortion in 1973 that, fifteen years later, largely contributed to the freefall in crime. And this, in diminishing (there are 1.5 million abortions per year in the United States) the number of undesirable children, often in dysfuncitonal families, and thus fated to a shady future. It is an shocking analysis, yet may not be void of some truth.
Selon les auteurs, c'est l'arrêt Roe v. Wade ayant légalisé l'avortement en 1973 qui, 15 ans plus tard, a largement fait chuter la criminalité. Et ce, en diminuant (1,5 million d'avortements par année aux États-Unis) le nombre d'enfants non désirés, souvent dans des familles dysfonctionnelles, et donc promis à un sombre avenir. C'est une analyse d'une froideur choquante, mais peut-être pas dénuée de vérité.
A couple of things I wish to point out that undersocere this limited analysis of Mr. Levitt and Dubner, and in turn Mr. Roy.
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Comparing abortion to the Colorado shooting, and other tragic losses of life: is it right?
Blogger Bryan Kemper - StandTruedotcom, was widely critized for comparing the tragic event in a Colorado theater last week to the on-going tragedy of abortion. The following is his response to these critics.
July 24, 2012 (StandTrue.com) - To answer this question one must first answer the question: what is abortion?
Abortion is simply a word used to describe the action of killing a human person in one of the early stages of that human person’s development, just as shooting is simply a word to describe how the human persons in that Colorado theatre were killed. Both words describe a different method used to end the life of human persons who are all in different stages of their life and development.
In the same way, when I compare the Nazi Holocaust and the Abortion Holocaust, I am showing that they are both horrific events that have claimed the lives of millions of innocent human persons. One took place 70 years ago and one is taking place right now.
I could easily show comparisons to many other events in history such as Columbine, slavery, earthquakes and many more tragic events that have claimed so many innocent lives.
Many people think that I am making these comparisons to show the similarities of the events in question and abortion, but that is not really the case. I am not merely trying to show them as the same thing, I am trying show the horrifying fact that we don’t see them as the same thing.
When I make these comparisons it is because, while I am grieving for the loss of those innocent lives lost in Colorado at that theatre, I am also in pain for the other thousands of innocent human person killed on the same day that so few people are crying for. I am trying to shake this world and make us realize that there are thousands of innocent human persons being murdered in buildings every day around the nation and the media are not there to tell their story.
The Planned Parenthoods and abortion clinics have successfully lulled America into silence about the bloodshed behind their doors. They have convinced so many that this is nothing more that a choice being carried out to help women. They have declared war on women and innocent children in the womb and have disguised it as liberation and freedom.
In carrying out this war on women, the abortion industry has been able to silence the outrage that should be shown towards this abortion massacre. They have been able to mask a horrific and violent action as a healthcare right that needs to be funded by our government.
I will be totally honest here: I do not simply believe I have the right to make these comparisons; I believe I am compelled to make these comparisons. I believe that the blood of 55,000,000 of my fellow Americans who have been massacred by abortionists must be cried for.
(Ed.: Here in Canada, figuring 100,000 deaths per year since the legalization of abortion in 1969, some 43 years ago means 4.3 million Canadians have perished. As for Quebec, where 30% of all abortions are performed, the figure is 1.3 million.)
In my most recent comparison I created a graphic showing the Colorado theatre where the shooting took place alongside a picture of a Planned Parenthood. I said that when 12 people are killed at this theatre it is called a massacre and when 12 people are killed at the Planned Parenthood it is called Choice.
I was not shocked by the responses I got from non-Christians or from pro-abortion people; I was shocked by some of the comments I got from Christians and people who identify themselves as pro-life.
I was told that calling abortion murder is judgmental and as Christians we are not called to judge. I have to ask these people if they are calling what the shooter in the theatre did can be called murder, or is that being judgmental as well?
I was told that it is just too soon to compare things like these because those people just died three days ago. While I am so very saddened by their deaths, I am also saddened that in the four days since that attack in Colorado, almost 16,000 innocent human persons have been killed in abortion clinics. Since January 22 of 1973 over 55,000,000 innocent humans beings have been killed by surgical abortion in America alone. It is not too soon; it is actually long overdue.
I am being told that I am just opportunistic. Yes, I am. I am using this opportunity to bring to the light the senseless and brutal murder of millions of innocent children who deserve to have their deaths mourned. I am using this opportunity to show the hypocrisy of a nation who defends, protects and funds the murder of her own citizens in the name of choice.
This graphic comparison was meant to do many things, and one of those things was to create a buzz and get abortion talked about. It worked. When abortion is being talked about and the truth is being exposed, lives are saved. One of my goals as an abortion abolitionist is to never allow abortion to fade away as a non-topic. My goal is to make it so prevalent and so front and center that this nation and the world are forced to open their eyes and see it for what it truly is. Abortion is an act of homicide and I will take every opportunity to expose this until we see the abolition of the abortion massacre.
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