This past week, my friend Ken Epp, the Member of Parliament for Edmonton-Sherwood Park, introduced the Unborn Victims of Crime Bill in the House of Commons. This bill would recognize an unborn child as the second victim of any attack against a pregnant woman. It would mean that if someone assaulted a pregnant woman and killed her unborn child, the criminal is liable to imprisonment for life “and to a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of 10 years.”

This bill is important for a number of reasons. First and most importantly, it provides protection for an unborn child because a criminal is much more likely to be deterred by a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison than by simple assault charges. Someone who attacks a pregnant woman in order to cause a miscarriage might think twice if he will end up in prison for at least a decade.

Secondly, this bill should protect pregnant women. Research by the Canadian Perinatal Surveillance System showed that women were four times as likely to be abused or face serious violence, including being beaten, choked, threatened with a knife or sexually assaulted. It is disturbing that when women are at their most vulnerable they are most at risk. Hopefully, this bill will provide more protection for women.

I’m Brad Trost, your MP for Saskatoon-Humboldt, I welcome your feedback, contact my offices anytime. You can contact my Saskatoon office at (306) 975-6133.