Anti-Choice Private Member Bills and Motions Introduced in Canada Since 1987

Bill #

Date Introduced

MP / Senator

Description

M-37

June 2, 1987 (voted on)

Gus Mitges, Progressive Conservative MP

Motion to amend Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to include "unborn persons." Defeated 89-62.

S-16

1988

Stanley Haidasz, Liberal Senator

A bill to amend the Criminal Code to protect the “unborn child.”

C-268

1989

Don Boudria, Progressive Conservative MP

Bill to amend Canada Health Act to allow federal government to penalize any province that paid for abortions deemed not necessary to preserve the life of the woman.

C-277

1989

Don Boudria, Progressive Conservative MP

Bill to amend Section 293 of the Criminal Code and repeal Sections 223, 238, and 287 to ban abortion in all cases except to save the woman’s life.

C-266

1989

Ralph Ferguson, Liberal MP

Bill to define a foetus as a person and prohibit abortion with a couple of exceptions including when “medically authorized to save the life of the pregnant woman.”

C-261

1989

John Nunziata, Liberal MP

Bill to amend Section 287 of Criminal Code to ban abortion in all cases, but permitting medical treatment necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman.

C-275

1989

Tom Wappel, Liberal MP

Bill to redefine “human being” to include an “embryo” and a “foetus”, so as to define abortion as homicide.

S-7

1989

Stanley Haidasz, Liberal Senator

Reintroduction of bill to amend the Criminal Code to protect the “unborn child” (S-16).

C-214

1991

Tom Wappel, Liberal MP

Reintroduction of Bill to redefine “human being” to include an “embryo” and a “foetus”, so as to define abortion as homicide. (C-275)

C-220

1991

Don Boudria, Progressive Conservative MP

Bill to criminalize abortion provision: "Every person who directly or indirectly requires a physician, nurse, staff member or employee of a hospital or other health care facility to perform or participate directly or indirectly in an abortion procedure is guilty of an indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years."

C-221

1991

Don Boudria, Progressive Conservative MP

Reintroduction of Bill to amend Section 293 of the Criminal Code and repeal Sections 223, 238, and 287 to ban abortion in all cases except to save woman’s life. (C-277)

C-222

1991

Don Boudria, Progressive Conservative MP

Reintroduction of Bill to amend Canada Health Act to allow federal government to penalize any province that paid for abortions deemed not necessary to preserve the life of the woman. (C-268)

C-302

1991

Ralph Ferguson, Liberal MP

Reintroduction of Bill to define a foetus as a person, which would prohibit abortion with a couple of exceptions including when “medically authorized to save the life of the pregnant woman.” (C-266)

C-253

May 27, 1994

Don Boudria, Progressive Conservative MP

Reintroduction of Bill to criminalize abortion provision. (C-220)

C-208

Feb. 1996

Tom Wappel, Liberal MP

Reintroduction of Bill to redefine “human being” to include an “embryo” and a “foetus”, so as to define abortion as homicide. (C-275)

M-91

March 14, 1996

Garry Breitkreuz, Reform MP

Motion calling for binding national referendum on government funding for "medically unnecessary" abortions.

C-?

March 1997

Keith Martin, Reform MP

Bill to charge pregnant women who abuse alcohol, drugs etc. with criminal endangerment of fetus. Guilty women would be sentenced to treatment centre.

S-7

Nov. 19, 1997

Stanley Haidasz, Liberal Senator

Bill to prevent “coercion in medical procedures that offend a person’s religion or belief that human life is inviolable."

M-268

Nov. 20, 1997

Garry Breitkreuz, Reform MP

Reintroduction of Motion calling for binding national referendum on government funding for "medically unnecessary" abortions. (M-91)

M-?

February 1998

Stanley Haidasz, Liberal Senator

Motion to set up a Special Joint Committee on the Unborn “to examine and report upon the feasibility of legislation in the area of fetal rights in order to provide some protection to the unborn child.”

S-16

May 1998

Stanley Haidasz, Liberal Senator

Bill to amend Criminal Code to give full protection to "unborn children."

C-461

Dec. 2, 1998

Maurice Vellacott, Reform MP

Bill to prohibit healthcare providers from being forced to participate against their will in procedures such as abortion or euthanasia. (Similar to Haidasz's conscience clause Bill S-7, 1997).

M-360

1999

Garry Breitkreuz, Reform MP

Motion to enact law to define a human being as a “human fetus or embryo from the moment of conception, whether in the womb of the mother or not and whether conceived naturally or otherwise.”

C-515

June 2, 1999

Jim Pankiw, Reform MP

Bill to “provide for a referendum to determine whether Canadians wish medically unnecessary abortions to be insured services under the Canada Health Act and to amend the Referendum Act.” If a majority said No to funding, government would have to financially penalize provinces that continued to pay for abortion.

C-207

Oct. 1999

Maurice Vellacott, Reform MP

Re-introduction of conscience clause Bill C-461 (Dec 1998) and Bill S-7 (Nov 1997).

S-11

Nov. 1999

Raymond Perrault, Liberal Senator

Re-introduction of Haidasz's conscience clause Bill (S-7, Nov 19/97).

C-422

Dec. 1999

Maurice Vellacott, Reform MP

Re-introduction of conscience clause Bill C-461 (Dec 1998) and Bill S-7 (Nov 1997).

M-228

Feb. 2, 2001

Garry Breitkreuz, Reform MP

Reintroduction of Motion to enact law to define a human being as fetus or embryo from the moment of conception (C-360).

C-246

Feb. 2, 2001

Maurice Vellacott, Reform MP

Re-introduction of conscience clause Bill C-461 (Dec 1998) and Bill S-7 (Nov 1997).

M-392

April 18, 2002

Garry Breitkreuz, Alliance MP

Motion asking Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights to examine current definition of “human being” in the Criminal Code to see if law needs to be amended to provide protection to fetuses and to designate a fetus/embryo as a human being.

M-523

June 17, 2002

Garry Breitkreuz, Alliance MP

Motion asking Standing Committee on Health to evaluate whether abortions are "medically necessary," and to compare health risks for women undergoing abortions to women carrying their babies to full term.

C-246

Oct. 30, 2002

Maurice Vellacott, Reform MP

Re-introduction of conscience clause Bill C-461 (Dec 1998) and Bill S-7 (Nov 1997).

C-452

May 1, 2002

Jim Pankiw, Reform MP

Reintroduction of bill (C-515) to allow a referendum on tax funding of "medically unnecessary" abortions.

M-83

March, 2003

Garry Breitkreuz, Alliance MP

Motion asking Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights to examine whether abortions are “medically necessary,” and to compare health risks for women undergoing abortions compared to women carrying their babies to full term. Voted on Oct 1, 2003, defeated 139-66.

M-482

Oct. 23, 2003

Garry Breitkreuz, Alliance MP

Motion asking Parliament for a Woman’s Right to Know Act, to "guarantee women are fully informed of all the risks before deciding to abort their baby,” and to provide penalties for physicians who perform an abortion without woman’s informed consent.

M-560

March 10, 2004

Garry Breitkreuz, Conservative MP

Motion asking Parliament to create new Criminal Code offence for the "murder of an unborn child" when a third party murders a pregnant woman.

M-70

Oct. 5, 2004

Garry Breitkreuz, Conservative MP

Reintroduction of bill for “Woman’s Right to Know Act” (M-482).

C-291

May 17, 2006

Leon Benoit, Reform MP

A bill to amend the Criminal Code to make “injuring or causing the death of a child before or during its birth while committing an offence” a separate offence.

C-338

June 21, 2006

Paul Steckle, Liberal MP

Bill to criminalize abortions after 20 weeks gestation. (ARCC response)

C-338

October 2007

Paul Steckle, Liberal MP

Reintroduction of bill to criminalize abortions after 20 weeks gestation.
(ARCC response)

C-484

Nov. 21, 2007

Ken Epp, Conservative MP

Bill to protect fetuses from third-party attacks: "Unborn Victims of Crime Act." (similar to M-561 of March 2004 and C-291 of May 2004). The bill passed 2nd reading with a vote of 147-132, but died on the order paper in Sept 2008 when the election was called.(ARCC response)

C-537

April 16, 2008

Maurice Vellacott, Conservative MP

Bill to prevent coercion of medical personnel. Conscience clause protection similar to his previous bills C-246, C-422, C-207, and C-461.
(ARCC response)

C-510

April 16, 2010

Rod Bruinooge, Conservative MP

Bill to ban "coerced abortion." (ARCC response)

M-312

March 13, 2012

Stephen Woodworth, Conservative MP

Motion to have Parliamentary committee examine if Criminal Code definition of "human beings" should include fetuses, and to look at medical evidence, legal impact and consequences. (ARCC response)

M-408

Sept. 27, 2012

Mark Warawa, Conservative MP

Motion to "condemn discrimination against females occurring through sex-selective pregnancy termination."