March 11, 2008
Unborn Victims Of Crime Act Passes Second Reading
The Bill, brought forward by Ken Epp, MP for Edmonton-Sherwood Park, is actually a revised version of a Private Member’s Bill Benoit tabled during the previous Parliament. Benoit spoke in support of C-484 last week in the House of Commons, stating:
"This bill, if passed, would protect unborn children who are targets of violence when their mother is a victim of a crime.
"Mary Talbot, the mother of 2005 murder victim, Olivia Talbot, and grandmother of Olivia's unborn son, said to Joyce Arthur, who is a detractor of this bill:
"Please show some respect for my daughter's and her unborn baby's memory....And I feel I can ask the same for the rest of the families who are at this time grieving the loss of their loved ones. I hope you never have to experience the pain, anguish and sense of injustice of losing a beloved family member to violence, only to learn that no crime was committed, only to learn that the one your heart breaks for, was of no worth.
"Mary has said it well, and it is enough reason for all MPs to vote for Ken Epp's bill, Bill C-484."
“I was glad to see that the work we have done on this legislation resulted in Members of Parliament voting 147 to 133 in support of allowing the bill to proceed to Committee Stage,” explained Benoit.
Since 72% of Canadians support this legislation, I will continue to work hard to persuade my Parliamentary Colleagues that they should support the Bill at further stages. Canadian women who choose to give birth when they are pregnant should not have to stand alone to protect the child within that they are eagerly awaiting.
“It is so encouraging to see the outpouring of support from thousands of Canadians right across the country who have urged their MPs to support this legislation, who have signed petitions, and who have spoken out in defence of pregnant women who have chosen life for their children,” states Benoit. “In the midst of their grief, I hope Mary Talbot and others who have lost loved ones to this type of crime, can experience some measure of consolation, knowing that many, many Canadians are united with them in the quest for justice for unborn victims of crime. Although justice will never be served for the crimes committed against their own family members, there is real hope today that other families in future will be spared the injustice of being told that the child they loved and wanted to live never even existed in the eyes of the law.”
