Abortion Not In My Criminal Code Essay — страница 2

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was one of the first Canadian doctors to perform vasectomies, insert IUDs and provide contraceptive pills to the unmarried. As president of the Montreal Humanist Fellowship he urged the Commons Health and Welfare Committee in 1967 to repeal the law against abortion. To draw attention to the safety and efficacy of clinical abortions, Morgentaler in 1973 publicized the fact that he had successfully carried out over 5000 abortions. When a Jury found him not guilty of violating article 251 of the Criminal Code the Quebec Court of Appeal (in Feb 1974), in an unprecedented action, Quashed the jury finding and ordered Morgentaler imprisoned. Though this ruling was upheld by the Supreme Court a second jury acquittal led Ron Basford, minister of justice, to have a Criminal Code amendment

passed, taking away the power of appellate judges to strike down acquittals and order imprisonment’s. After a third jury trial led to yet another acquittal all further charges were dropped. In Nov 1984 Morgentaler and 2 associates were acquitted of conspiring to procure a miscarriage at their Toronto clinic. The Ontario government appealed the acquittal; the accused appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada, which struck down the law in early 1988 on the basis that it conflicted with rights guaranteed in the Charter. 4 The Charter guaranteed a woman’s right to the security of her person. The Court also found that this right was breached by the delays resulting from the therapeutic abortion committee procedures. In May 1990 the House of Commons approved (140- 131) a new law that

would put abortion back into the Criminal Code, allowing abortions only if a doctor determined that a woman’s health was threatened by her pregnancy. The bill died in the Senate in Jan 1991. 5 In the case of Campbell v. Attorney-General of Ontario (1987) the allegations in the statement of claim that the effect of the stay was to deny s.7 and s,15 rights to unborn children aborted or about to be aborted support a reasonable cause of action. The law does not regard unborn children as independent legal entities prior to birth, so that it is only at birth that independent legal rights attach. Unborn children therefore do not enjoy any Charter rights. 6 The problem with s.251 is that it takes the decision away from the woman at all stages of her pregnancy. Balancing the state’s

interest in a protection of the fetus as potential life under s.1 against the rights of the pregnant woman under this section requires that greater weight be given to the state’s interest only in the later stages of pregnancy. 7 Abortion is a divisive social issue, condemned by some groups and supported by others as a moral issue to be decided by individuals, not the state. 8 It is complicated for the government to balance both sides of the issue. Not everyone can be unconditionally content. The government has to decide on what is fair and what is morally right. The Charter guarantees the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice. A woman, pregnant or not, has the

right to control her own life and destiny. She also has the right to make her own choices about what affects her. A woman has the right to feel secure in having an abortion, and feel secure about her own health. A woman’s body is her own. What she does with it is her own business. An unborn child does not have the ability to think for itself, so the mother must think for it. It may show life signs but it is not conscious and has no reasoning. It is not up to someone else to decide what is right and what is wrong for another individual. Who are we to tell someone else what to do or think. For an example, if a teenage girl is pregnant, what kind of a life could she offer the child? Teenagers can barely take care of themselves, not to mention a baby. It would benefit everyone

involved if the abortion option is openly present. It is hard enough to be a teenager without others judging your opinions and choices. It is understandable that people do not agree that abortion should be a choice for a woman. They may not understand what the woman may be struggling with mentally and or physically. The government should have little control over this issue. They should monitor people to make certain that abortion is not used as a contraception, for this may be endangering the health of a woman. With world overpopulation, keeping the abortion law out of the Criminal Code may benefit the entire planet. It’s a sad way of looking at it but people have to face reality. PERSONAL THOUGHT People who protest against abortion have nothing better to do. They protest only