Oppose Bill
C-484, "Unborn Victims of Crime
Act"
A private member's bill called The "Unborn Victims of Crime Act"
(C-484), passed Second Reading in Parliament on March 5. This bill
would amend the Criminal Code to allow separate homicide charges to be
laid in the death of a fetus when a pregnant woman is attacked. If
passed, this bill would be an unconstitutional infringement on women’s
rights, and would likely result in harms against pregnant women. It is
a key step towards re-criminalizing abortion, but it could also
criminalize pregnant women for behaviours perceived to harm their
fetuses.
Action
Items:
Organizations: Please sign the open statement opposing Bill C-484.
Individuals: Please
sign
our online petition opposing the bill.
Paper
petition: Print
out our paper petition (on 8-1/2 x 14 paper) to gather signatures from
people outside cyberspace.
Please
send
a letter opposing the bill to your MP.
Please
donate to our campaign. We need your support, thank you!
Articles,
Statements, Press Releases:
New: Expect a
Bill C-484 Clone Soon - The
Conservative Party has passed a resolution to support another bill just
like Bill C-484.
Talking
Points Against the "Unborn Victims of Crime Act" - 14
arguments explaining why this is a bad law, endangering both abortion
rights and women's rights in general.
C-484 Brief: A 3-page summary of the
problems with Bill C-484, compiled by an ad-hoc group of pro-choice and
women's organizations, including ARCC.
Bill C-543 Far Better Than Bill C-484:
A private member's bill that would mandate harsher penalties for
attacks against pregnant women is a useful political tool against Bill
C-484, and would advance (not endanger) women's reproductive rights and
equality.
A Fetus is a Fetus, Not an "Unborn Baby": Complaints of "Misinformation Campaign" Against Bill C-484 are Misinformed, by Joyce Arthur.
Joyce Arthur's Rebuttal
to Ken Epp: Bill C-484 Endangers Abortion Rights and
Women’s Rights by Establishing Fetal Personhood.
Statements
from other groups opposing Bill C-484 -
Read statements opposing Bill C-484 from a wide variety of groups, including anti-domestic violence groups,
women's shelters, labour unions, legal associations, medical
organizations, and pro-choice groups.
Lessons from
the U.S. Experience with Unborn Victims of Violence Laws - Read the
evidence from the U.S., where pregnant women have become the primary
arrest targets of UVVA and feticide laws. Instead of targeting those
who attack pregnant women, these laws have been transformed into tools
for policing pregnant women themselves. (Written for ARCC by Lynn
Paltrow, Executive Director of National Advocates for Pregnant Women,
of New York).
The Case Against a "Fetal Homicide" Law - Creating a law to
allow murder charges on behalf of fetuses would be an unconstitutional
infringement on women’s rights. Updated from our original position
paper written in November 2007.
Joyce Arthur's op-ed piece in Edmonton's Vue Weekly, May 15-08: Bill C-484 poses major threats to abortion rights, women's rights.
Joyce Arthur's op-ed piece in the National Post April 1-08: Bill C-484 isn't about protecting pregnant women, it's about recriminalizing abortion.
ARCC’s Feb 29-08 press release: Canadians oppose “fetal rights” bill.
ARCC's
Nov 23-07 press release: Bill
to protect fetuses would hurt pregnant women.
Joyce
Arthur's op-ed piece in the Ottawa Citizen Feb 27-08: Fetal
Homicide Bill Poses Conflict of Rights.
Joyce Arthur's op-ed piece in the National Post Nov 13-07: Fetal Homicide Laws are not the Answer.
The danger of Canada's Bill C-484: How the U.S. federal "Unborn Victims of Violence Act" can be used to overturn the legal right to abortion, according to anti-abortion terrorist James Kopp.