Canadian law regarding pre-born life is such a mess. I hope to dig into this at some point, and go beyond the regular discussions on the Criminal Code.

The “Costco case” demonstrates again how our laws pertaining to unborn children are convoluted and unclear:

A tragic accident that claimed the lives of two children in London, Ont., this past summer has now been thrust into the national spotlight. On July 25, a vehicle driven by Ruth Burger crashed into a Costco, striking a young family. Addison Hall, six, died as a result of her injuries. Danah McKinnon-Bozek, who was eight months pregnant at the time, and her three-year-old daughter Miah Bozek, were also injured. Danah was rushed to hospital for an emergency C-section, but her infant daughter died about a week following the accident.

Ms. Burger was initially charged with two counts of criminal negligence causing bodily harm, but only one count of criminal negligence causing death. Late last week, London police laid an additional charge of criminal negligence causing death, relating to the death of Ms. McKinnon-Bozek’s infant Rhiannon.

The law is clear: Section 223(2) of the Criminal Code states that “a person commits homicide when he causes injury to a child before or during its birth as a result of which the child dies after becoming a human being.” This applies to the death of any child who could live outside the mother, even for a brief time.

I hope the family finds some very small measure in comfort in this new charge being laid. In law, their daughter and their loss is being recognized.

Read the rest of Andre Schutten and Mike Schouten’s article here.