This motion calls for the appointment of a special committee, made up mostly of Conservative MPs, that would decide whether a fetus is a human being at any point before birth after examining the relevant medical evidence, and recommend changes to the Criminal Code based on their conclusion. As the astute reader will have noticed, this would leave our right to safe, legal abortion wide open to attack - and this is what Mr. Woodworth wants. Don't let his public focus on third trimester fetuses fool you, he is the "personhood from fertilization" type, and he wants to make his beliefs law - just look at his records according to this anti-choice website.
For more information, read the motion itself, Joyce Arthur's excellent piece on why it is unnecessary and dangerous, and check out the debate between she and Woodworth hosted by the Huffington post (don't forget to vote on it!). Bonus: some horrifying examples of what can happen when the law views pregnant people and their fetuses as separate entities, courtesy of the ACLU (trigger warning for forced c-sections).
Now that you're all brushed up on the issue, what can you do to stop this mess? First off, you can get your MP's email address and write to them. ARCC has two different sample letters you can borrow. Next, you can sign ARCC's petition.
Can you knit, crochet or sew? Why not join this group and help provide our MPs with cuddly plush uteruses?
Are you able to print postcards? ARCC's got some lovely ones for Mr. Harper and the MPs.
Finally, you can stay in loop by following the Radical Handmaids in their various social media ventures, and by keeping an eye on ARCC's action alert page for the motion (which contains nearly all of the links I've provided here - credit goes to ARCC for doing the leg work of finding them).
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