One way to appreciate the force of the argument for “Justice for the Unborn,” is to compare and contrast the ways in which Canadian laws and the judicial system treat the cases of (a) a man who has first tortured, and later murdered, a series of victims (often children), having first videotaped the torture scenes, and (b) the deliberate killing, by abortion, of a totally innocent, totally defenceless preborn baby, who, not only has not – but could not – commit any minor offence, let alone any crime.
Today, the death sentence for murder in Canada has been replaced by life imprisonment. But first there must be a trial, and in law, Canadian justice is to give every chance to the accused to prove his or her innocence, and thus to escape the penalty. The accused must be considered innocent until he is proven guilty; the judge must be – and must be seen to be – impartial; members of the jury must be unbiased in their verdict, and the defence lawyers have the right to challenge potential jurors who might have reason for bias; the accused is defended by lawyers, and witnesses who speak in his defence; the final verdict of the jury may be appealed, by either the Crown or the defence, and the case may go to a higher court. That is the case for the man accused of torture and murder. What happens in the case of the preborn child?
There is one exception to “deal with justice” in Canadian law – the case of the baby who is not yet born, who is conceived, living and growing in the womb, but not yet ready for birth. His or her life is not protected by any law in Canada (one of the minuscule number of countries in the world without a law). The murderer is protected by law here, but not the preborn baby.
How does he or she differ from the murderer? (1) The baby is innocent of any wrong doing, let alone crime; (2) The baby is not accused of any crime. Its life is simply inconvenient or possibly embarrassing to others; (3) The baby’s fate is determined, quietly, by the mother (who might herself be a victim) and the abortionist, who is paid to exterminate the child; (4) There is no defence for the innocent baby; no lawyers, no impartial judge, no witnesses; (5) Those who might seek to save the baby’s life (for example, the grandparents, and even the father who would happily adopt the baby) are powerless; they cannot stop its killing; (6) Appeals to a high court are not possible; no lower court has ruled, and in any case there is no law against abortion.
Thus, in Canada, there is care in seeing that a man or woman who tortures and kills a victim is protected by law from legal injustice; the children of Canada who are growing and getting ready for birth, are shut out from justice. Canada has no law to protect the preborn; politicians avoid any debate on abortions; and the Canadian preborn is denied justice. That is why pro-life people demand “Justice for the Unborn.”
