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Bill C-205

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1nd Session, 35th Parliament,
42 Elizabeth II, 1994

The House of Commons of Canada

BILL C-205

R.S., c. C-46; R.S., cc. 2, 11, 27, 31, 47, 51, 52 (1st Supp.), cc. 1, 24, 27, 35 (2nd Supp.), cc. 10, 19, 30, 34 (3rd Supp.), cc. 1, 23, 29, 30, 31, 32, 40, 42, 50 (4th Supp.); 1989, c. 2; 1990, cc. 15, 16, 17, 44; 1991, cc. 1, 4, 28, 40, 43; 1992, cc. 1, 11, 20, 21, 22, 27, 38, 41, 47, 51; 1993, cc. 7, 25, 28, 34, 37, 40, 45, 46

An Act to amend the Criminal Code (human being)

Preamble

Whereas the Supreme Court of Canada has rendered judgment on the subject of abortion in the case of Morgentaler, Smoling and Scott v. Her Majesty the Queen and the Attorney General of Canada and in the case of Borowski v. Attorney General of Canada;

And Whereas section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms provides that everyone has the right to life;

And Whereas the right to life is the most fundamental of all human rights;

And Whereas the right to life of a person exists from the time of the conception to the time of the natural death of that person;

Now, Therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

1. Section 2 of the Criminal Code is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:

``human being''
« être humain »

``human being'' includes a human foetus or embryo, from the moment of conception, whether in the womb of the mother or not and whether conceived naturally or other wise;

R.S., c. 27 (1st Supp.), s. 33; c. 32 (4th Supp.), s. 56

2. The heading before section 214 of the Act is replaced by the following:

OFFENCES AGAINST THE HUMAN BEING AND REPUTATION

3. Subsection 222(4) of the Act is replaced by the following:

Culpable homicide

(4) Culpable homicide is murder or manslaughter.

4. Section 223 of the Act is repealed.

5. (1) The heading before section 229 of the Act is replaced by the following:

Murder and Manslaughter

(2) Section 229 of the Act is renumbered as subsection 229(1) and is amended by adding the following:

Exception

(2) This section does not apply to a person who, in good faith, by means that he or she considers necessary to preserve the life of a mother who has a human being in her womb, causes the death of that human being.

6. Sections 233 and 234 of the Act are replaced by the following:

Manslaugh-
ter

234. Culpable homicide that is not murder is manslaughter.

7. Sections 237 and 238 of the Act are repealed.

8. Sections 242 and 243 of the Act and the heading before it are replaced by the following:

NEGLECT IN GIVING BIRTH TO A HUMAN BEING , AND CONCEALING DEAD BODY

Neglect to obtain assistance in giving birth to a human being

242. A female person who, being pregnant and about to be delivered, with intent that the human being shall not live or with intent to conceal the birth of the human being , fails to make provision for reasonable assistance in respect of her delivery is, if the human being is permanently injured as a result thereof, guilty of an indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.

Concealing body of human being

243. Every one who in any manner disposes of the dead body of a human being with intent to conceal the fact that its mother has been delivered of it, is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years.

9. (1) Subsection 610(2) of the Act is replaced by the following:

Effect of previous charge of murder or manslaughter

(2) A conviction or an acquittal on an indictment for murder bars a subsequent indictment for the same homicide charging it as manslaughter, and a conviction or acquittal on an indictment for manslaughter bars a subsequent indictment for the same homicide charging it as murder.

(2) Subsection 610(4) of the Act is repealed.

R.S., c. 27 (1st Supp.), s. 134

10. Subsections 662(3) and (4) of the Act are replaced by the following:

Conviction for manslaughter on charge of murder

(3) Subject to subsection (4), where a count charges murder and the evidence proves manslaughter but does not prove murder, the jury may find the accused not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter, but shall not on that count find the accused guilty of any other offence.

Conviction for concealing body of child where murder charged

(4) Where a count charges the murder of a child and the evidence proves the commission of an offence under section 243 but does not prove murder, the jury may find the accused not guilty of murder, as the case may be, but guilty of an offence under section 243.

11. Section 663 of the Act is repealed.

COMING INTO FORCE

Coming into force

12. This Act shall come into force on a day that is one year following the day it is assented to.