For nearly five decades, John Wayne played western heroes on the silver screen. In reality, the Duke probably wouldn’t have lasted fifty years out on the range: 19th Century American men usually died in their 30s and 40s. Disease was the biggest killer, but violence cut lives short too. And, as Canada’s Cypress Hills and Frog Lake massacres proved, homicide wasn’t an exclusively American problem.
The North-West Mounted Police were formed in 1873 to impose order on the Canadian frontier. Known today as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, their red dress uniform is recognized as a national symbol. Yet despite Canada’s history of venerating authority, there is one area in which the country is essentially lawless.
When it comes to abortion, Canada has few rules. It has no legal gestational limits and no laws requiring parental consent either. Gary Cross would’ve liked that situation: the California sex-offender impregnated his 13 year-old victim and then covered it up with a late-term abortion. As a result, the abuse continued unreported.
Cross wasn’t alone in using abortion to hide his crimes. Fellow child rapists Timothy Smith, John F. Szorady, Adam Gault, and John Blanks, Jr., did the same. Given that abortion clinics have been a big help to sexual predators in the U.S., you can see how offenders would benefit under Canada’s no-limits approach.
And, as I’ve pointed out before, abortion isn’t just helpful for men who want to hide sexual abuse–it’s a great way to avoid child support as well. Winnipeger Roxanne Fernando discovered that when her abusive boyfriend demanded she abort their child; he beat her to death after she refused. British Columbian Tasha Rossette was murdered for similar reasons. Their experiences mirror those of many American women, plenty of whom have faced bullets, blades, bombs, and gasoline for not aborting when their partners told them to.
In 2010, Ms. Fernando had a piece of legislation named after her. Introduced by member of parliament Rod Bruinooge, the bill would have made coercing a woman into having an abortion a criminal offense. It was voted down after being condemned by pro-abortion politicians as “anti-choice.” Abortion supporters have also preempted any legislation against gendercide, despite the Canadian Medical Association Journal describing Canada as “a haven” for those seeking to abort their daughters.
I suppose it’s not surprising new abortion rules haven’t passed. After all, the Canadian government doesn’t even enforce the few laws that do exist.
Ximena Renaerts was born at the Vancouver General Hospital following a botched abortion. Rather than being provided with medical care, Ximena was abandoned in a storage room for at least forty minutes, leaving her with severe physical and cognitive impairments. Ximena’s experience wasn’t unique: the Canadian government has admitted that between 2000 and 2009, at least 491 baby girls and and boys were inconsiderate enough to survive failed abortions. While fellow abortion survivors Gianna Jessen and Melisa Ohden are speaking out in defense of life, none of these children lived long enough to do the same. Interestingly, this is one of the few abortion related subjects that Canadian law isn’t silent on.
Under Section 223(2) of Canada’s Criminal Code, “A person commits homicide when he causes injury to a child before or during birth as a result of which the child dies after becoming a human being.” The definition of a human being can be found in Section 223 (1), which 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 an independent circulation; or (c) the navel string is severed”.
So there you have it. If someone “causes injury to a child before or during birth” and “as a result of which the child dies after becoming a human being,” then that individual “commits homicide.” Have any abortion providers been charged under this provision? Oh no, of course not. In fact, three members of parliament were publicly attacked for simply suggesting the idea.
There are some in America who would embrace this Wild West mentality. When Arizona outlawed abortion on the basis of race or sex, it was harangued by Planned Parenthood. The group’s allies in Congress have also opposed bans on late term abortion and stood in the way of investigating the link between abortion and sexual abuse. And, when he was in the Illinois state senate, President Obama spoke against legislation to protect abortion survivors, arguing that safeguards for “that fetus, or child, however you want to describe it” could create a burden for those in the abortion industry.
Canadian pro-lifers are working hard to bring positive change to the country, sometimes in the face of violent opposition. Like-minded Americans need to do the same. Because while the lawless frontier might be a good movie setting, it makes for a horrible reality.
