In their June 1989 response to the Law Reform Commission proposals, the Canadian Conferences of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) found much praise:- the definition of the fetus as a human being,- the recognition that abortion is not a private concern of the mother’s- the conviction that the fetus requires the protection of the criminal law. In view of this kind of awareness, the CCCB found the virtual acceptance of unlimited abortion by the Commission in the very early stages of pregnancy perplexing and astonishing. The bishops found the gestational approach, the view that human life is more worthy of respect at some stages than at others, completely arbitrary and indefensible. And that is the “reasonable compromise” many propose.
