Category Archives: Section 223

Posts related to Section 223 of the Criminal Code of Canada

Woodworth on Personhood

Commentary by Jane Richard, President of KW Right to Life

Under tight police security November 14, 2013 at the University of Waterloo Stephen Woodworth MP Kitchener Centre spoke about; “The importance of the legal principle which requires recognition of the equal worth and dignity of every human being and the implication of Parliament’s abandonment of that principle in defeating Motion 312.”

His initiative to investigate the outdated Personhood Law Section 223 (1) in relation to current medical scientific research and evidence was supported by 93 members of parliament.

Section 223(1) of the Canadian Criminal Code states: A child becomes a human being within the meaning of this Act when it has completely proceeded, in a living state, from the body of its mother, whether or not:  a) it has breathed; b) it has independent circulation; c) the navel string is severed

MP Stephen Woodworth talked about the following points:

Denial of human equality is the greatest threat to democracy in Canada today.

Categories of being human are never closed to tyranny and we should never accept any law that says someone you know to be a human being is not a human being.

The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights recognizes the inherent dignity and inalienable rights of all members of the human family. It is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. Is there anything more important?

Is abortion more important than the principle of human equality?

How do we resolve rights between kinds of people?

The state is not in a position to make that decision.

Statistics Canada records 491 born alive abortion victims. No one was prosecuted. People are even purporting that children should be allowed to be euthanized up to age three years as they have not reached the stage of self awareness.

Stephen Woodworth resolved that the Parliament of Canada affirm that every Canadian law must be interpreted in a manner that recognizes in law the equal worth and dignity of everyone who is in fact a human being. All options should be reviewed in the light of science and medicine when there is reasonable doubt.

In Canada, the Right to Life movement is concerned with the rights of the child and the rights of the mother in the abortion issue along with euthanasia. We recognize the ideology of the denial of personhood must be expounded to justify the killing.  As does the history of eugenics based on race, gender and even consciousness. The last 100 years are rife with examples.

Abortion, the current denial of personhood plays a particular role in today’s society for all the same reasons that eugenics did in the past. The difference is that a mother destroys her own child for the sake of expediency.  Cold comfort for her and those involved in abortion.

Stephen Woodworth speaking at Waterloo Pentecostal Assembly on May 22

Stephen Woodworth (MP – Kitchener Centre)
Tuesday, May 22 at 8:00pm in the Sanctuary
Waterloo Pentecostal Assembly, 395 King St. N., Waterloo
Stephen will speak about his Motion 312 calling for an investigation of the outdated Personhood Law (Criminal Code Section 223) in relation to current medical scientific evidence. Refreshments will be served. Presented by KW Right to Life.
Download Poster

Motion 312 Debate – Watch, Listen, or Read

Video of Motion 312 Debate – Opening speeches only:

Click below to download or listen to MP3 audio of the April 26 debate in the House of Commons of Motion 312:

The Hansard written transcript of the Motion 312 debate is also available.

 

Stephen Woodworth Speaking in Waterloo and St. Clement’s

Stephen Woodworth MP Kitchener Centre will speak about his Motion 312, which calls for an investigation of the outdated Personhood Law (Criminal Code Section 223) in relation to current medical and scientific evidence on:

Tuesday, April 17 – 7 p.m. – St. Clement’s Church, 3619 Lobsinger Line, St. Clement. Refreshments to follow in Parish Hall. Download Poster [PDF]

Wednesday, April 18 – 7:30 p.m. – St. Agnes Church, 75 Bluevale St. N., Waterloo – In the Church Hall. Refreshments before and after. Download Poster [PDF]

Stephen Woodworth MP – Speaking in KW in March

Stephen Woodworth (MP Kitchener-Centre) will speak about his Motion 312, which calls for an investigation of Canada’s outdated personhood law (Criminal Code Section 223) in relation to current scientific evidence.

Call KW Right to Life at 519-746-LIFE (5433) if you need more information.

Petition in Support of Motion 312

Here is Stephen Woodworth’s petition.

The more official print version of the Petition in Support of Motion 312 [PDF] can be printed out. Acquire 25 signatures with the signers’ city and province. It can be submitted to your local Member of Parliament.

There is also a less official Online Petition in Support of Motion 312 [Web page] that can be easily spread among friends and family over the internet. Here is the link: http://www.lifecanada.org/services/petitions/petition-in-support-of-motion-312

Write your MP today

KW Right to Life expresses great hope and determination to support the motion of Stephen Woodworth MP (Kitchener Centre). An old Law 223(1) that states a child is not a person until the moment of complete birth and how that interpretation relates to current medical and scientific evidence needs to be examined.

We are under no illusion that there will be an immediate law to make abortion illegal, in particular the first trimester, however this motion sets a precedent for getting to the fundamental principle of whether or not a preborn child is a person that has implications for the protection of life beyond the womb.

We encourage supporters to write the Prime Minister at [email protected] and their local MP’s, [email protected] and [email protected] to vote in favour of the motion this coming June. Discussion for the motion begins in March and again in June before the vote. Please thank Stephen Woodworth, [email protected] for this much needed motion.

If it passes, the task will be finding proof that indeed the child in the womb should have rightful claim to personhood. We pray. We act.

Jane Richard
KW Right to Life President

Letter from CWL President Mary Alice Zister

February 2012

My mother used to tell about a young man who became a priest. She knew his great- grandmother who had a baby out of wedlock.  Mom mused that had her friend had an abortion at her lowest moment that young priest, his grandparents, parents, siblings, uncles, aunts, cousins would never have been born. That young priest now has a cousin who also became a priest from the same line.

Since 1970 3.5 million babies have been aborted.  What a great blow to two generations. Who is missing? We will never know.

And now we have the opportunity to support a debate on the issue of when life begins. Continue reading Letter from CWL President Mary Alice Zister