February 6, 2012 Press Release
Media Release
For Immediate Publication
February 6, 2012
“Don’t Accept Any Law That Says Some Human Beings Are Not Human,”
says Woodworth
OTTAWA, Ontario ? Stephen Woodworth, Member of Parliament for Kitchener Centre
Today MP Stephen Woodworth filed a Motion with the Clerk of the House of Commons to ask Parliament to form a special Committee to study Canada’s 400 year old definition of human being and report back to the House on the medical evidence it finds and on options to deal with this archaic law.
“Canada’s 400 year old definition of human being says children are not human beings until the moment of complete birth”, he said. “I’ve concluded that modern medical science will inform us that children are in reality human beings at some point before the moment of complete birth. Canadians need to know there’s no human rights for children before complete birth.”
Woodworth asserts that Parliament has a duty to update this seventeenth Century definition of human being in light of twenty-first century medical evidence because of the significant implications of a law that says some human beings are not human. He acknowledges this is relevant to the abortion issue, but says the evidence and principles which inform a Canadian law determining who is a human being, and who is not, have wider implications. “A law which denies that someone is a human being, without any relevant or scientific evidence, is not a just law”, he insists.
“A respectful dialogue to update a 400 year old definition of human being with the aid of twenty-first century information will benefit everyone”, he stated. “Whatever view one has about other issues, does it make medical sense in the twenty-first century to say that a child is not a human being until the moment of complete birth? Members of Parliament have a duty not to accept any law that says some human beings are not human.”
The text of MP Woodworth’s motion and his remarks is attached.
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