OTTAWA, ON September 26, 2012 – Motion 312 was defeated in the House of Commons today by a vote of 203 to 91.  This motion, proposed by MP Stephen Woodworth, would have seen Parliament appoint a 12-member committee to study the legal definition of when a child becomes a human being. The Criminal Code currently considers a child a human being only after it has emerged alive from the mother’s womb.

“Although the Motion was defeated, it was very encouraging to see the the subject brought forward, as well as the groundswell of support through meetings with MPs, e-mails, letters, phone calls and petitions,” said Joanne McGarry, executive director of the Catholic Civil Rights League, which supported the motion through press interviews, messages to MPs and to its membership. “We thank Mr. Woodworth for proposing the motion, and all those MPs who supported it and thereby kept respect for life on Canada’s agenda.

“This particular motion has been defeated, but the debate on this issue, which many Canadians believe is anything but ‘settled,’ will continue until Canadian law recognizes the humanity of the unborn.”

MPs vote against motion to study when life begins, CBC news September 26, 2012
League supports effort to update personhood law, CCRL press releases, January 5, 2012