Support for Unborn Victims of Crime Act

Letter to the editor - Dear Editor:

I an encouraging people to please support Bill C-484.

My sister was the victim of a brutal attack when she was pregnant. There are some men who only attack pregnant women (for whatever reason) and the law has no extra deterrent for such men.

Three months ago, Bill C-484 - an act to amend the Criminal Code (injuring or causing the death of an unborn child while committing an offence) - was read in the House of Commons for a second time. The vote - 147 yeas and 132 nays.

What does this result mean? That the bill has now been referred to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.

And now, many Canadians are wondering what that means.

C-484 - also known as the Unborn Victims of Crime Act - is a private member's bill introduced by Conservative member of parliament Ken Epp.

Because it was not a government bill, all the parties followed House of Commons tradition and allowed a free vote. Only the Bloc Québecois voted uniformly against it. The majority of Conservatives supported it. All but one New Democrat voted against. The Liberal Party was the most divided for and against the bill.

Supporters of the bill point to increased rates of violence against pregnant women. While violence against women in general is a serious problem, the rate in fact increases with pregnancy and soon after giving birth. A U.S. study discovered "that a pregnant or recently pregnant woman is more likely to be a victim of homicide than to die of any other cause."

It raises the question, what do we as a society do to stop this violence?

One in six pregnant women are abused during pregnancy. Women abused during pregnancy were four times as likely as other abused women to report having experienced very serious violence, including being beaten up, choked, threatened with a gun/knife or sexually assaulted. Of the women who were abused during pregnancy, approximately 18 per cent reported that they had suffered a miscarriage or other internal injuries as a result of the abuse.

This bill has passed second reading. It is a long way from becoming law. Right now is a perfect time for people to have their say about whether the Unborn Victims of Crime Act should move forward, whether it needs to be amended, or whether it should not be considered beyond the committee stage.

To become law, a bill must first be introduced in either the Senate or the House of Commons. It must then pass through various stages in each House: first, second and third reading. Then it must receive royal assent.

Now, the House has agreed to refer Bill

C-484 to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights. It will be a while before we know when the committee plans to review the bill. We do know that it can ask witnesses and experts to speak about issues around the proposed legislation. So there are a couple of things to do right now.

Contact the full committee by sending a message to JUST@parl.gc.ca. Be sure to direct your message to Miriam Burke, clerk of the committee.

Send in your name - or the name of your organization - for consideration when the committee begins its witness selection process.

Send a formal written statement to the full committee.

Contact individual committee members. Let the one woman and 11 men on the Standing Committee on Justice and Human

Rights know what you are thinking. It's what democracy is all about!

Tim O'Brien

Burlington, Ont.