Bill C-510: Roxanne’s Law Tag

31 Jan 2011 New Easy Mail Letters: Follow-Up After Roxanne’s Law Defeated

MPs are back in Ottawa and their minds are focused on the possibility of an election. The December vote that defeated Roxanne's law (C-510) may be far from their minds. But that doesn't mean that we should forget about it too. Hundreds of ARPA readers took the time to communicate our thoughts with our MPs prior to the vote, and now we can also respond to them based on how they voted. After all, they are our elected representatives. There is a time to demonstrate both thanks and accountability. This is especially true with this vote, as it seems many MPs who really should have supported it (even pro-life MP's) went along with Stephen Harper in voting it down, hoping the issue of abortion would be forgotten over Christmas. Take Action Now - It only takes a couple minutes! A chart showing how each province, and how each MP voted on Roxanne's Law is here. After seeing how your MP voted, use this Easy Mail letter to thank your MP if he or she supported C-510, and use this Easy Mail letter if your MP voted against it. The letters are also below. As always, you are encouraged to customize them.
Read More

21 Dec 2010 Letter to Editor: Roxanne’s Law Vote

The following letter to the Peace Arch News by ARPA member Mike Schouten was published on Dec 20, 2010: On Wednesday, members of Parliament decided not protect a woman’s right to choose, defeating Bill C-510 – Roxanne’s Law – by a margin of 178-97. This private member’s bill, put forward by Conservative MP Rod Bruinooge (Winnipeg South), would have criminalized the act of coercing a woman into having an abortion. For decades now, the pro-abortion lobby has been telling us a woman’s right to choose is the paramount consideration. A choice is only a choice if there are multiple options; to be pro-choice must include a woman’s right to keep her child.
Read More

15 Dec 2010 Roxanne’s Law Defeated

Update: A list of how each MP voted is at the bottom of this article. You are encouraged to follow-up with your MP with either a thank-you note or a question of how they can justify voting agaist it. Just minutes ago, Bill C-510, which proposed to make it a crime to coerce a woman to have an abortion, was defeated in the House of Commons by a vote of 97 to 178. The bill was introduced by MP Rod Bruinooge and named after Roxanne Fernando (on right), who was killed by her boyfriend because she refused to abort her child. The vote means that this bill has died and won't be proceeding to committee for futher study. Most members of the opposition parties, along with many Conservatives, voted against it. Prime Minister Harper and Justice Minister Rob Nicholson also voted against it.
Read More

14 Dec 2010 An Inside Scoop on Monday’s Bill C-510 Debate

The following reflections come from someone from Ottawa who was in Parliament for the C-510 debate and has many years experience analysing abortion-related legislation in Canada: Yesterday's debate on Bill C-510 (Roxanne's Law) was unbelievable! I've never seen anything like it. See full debate here. The Liberals put up no speakers at all, the NDP and Bloc put up only one speaker each, so the Conservatives had a chance to put up 5 speakers in total (4 of whom were in favour).
Read More

26 Nov 2010 Take Action: Roxanne’s Law Vote Now Scheduled for Dec 15

ARPA Note: We recently received word from My Canada that the Conservative Party will allow a free vote on this bill, contrary to what they stated earlier. Your letters make a difference! In light of the impending vote, if you haven't done so yet, please make use of one of two Easy Mail letters to urge your MP to support this legislation.
Read More

04 Oct 2010 Ho-Hum? Roxanne’s Law is Something to Be Excited About!

By Mark Penninga (www.ARPACanada.ca) First published in Reformed Perspective Magazine, September 2010: When it comes to politics and abortion, Canadians should be given a gigantic F on our moral report card. Of all countries in the world, we seem to be the only one that can't have a reasonable discussion about abortion or make any laws on the matter. So when MP Rod Bruinooge introduced a bill in the House of Commons this spring that would make it a crime to coerce a woman to have an abortion, one might have expected a good number of people to shout forth a collective and joyful HURAY! The reality is quite the opposite.
Read More