Bill C-233 against sex-selective abortion before House April 14

OTTAWA -- Saskatchewan Conservative MP Cathay Wagantall’s private member’s bill to make abortions done on the basis of a baby’s sex illegal in Canada will be up for debate and second reading in the House of Commons April 14.

The proposed bill was first introduced in the House of Commons in February 2020, before the pandemic shut down Parliament for a while.

Wagantall’s legislative assistant Tristan McLaughlin told Canadian Catholic News that although MPs can take part in debates from home via the Internet, Wagantall plans to be in the House to present the bill in person to show its importance to her.

Bill C-233, the Sex Selective Abortion Act, has the backing of most pro-life organizations in Canada who have been asking Canadians to sign an online petition in support of the bill (petitions.ourcommons.ca). As of April 6, 7,796 Canadians have signed the petition.

The bill would ban all abortions that are based on the predicted sex of the fetus. It’s a practice common is societies that value male children over females.

In an interview after Wagantall first introduced her proposed bill, she said she believes most Canadians would support such restrictions on abortion.

“If just one girl is aborted simply because of her sex, parliamentarians must act,” Wagantall said.

“Thankfully, Canadians of nearly all beliefs are united on this issue, with 84 per cent stating that sex-selective abortion should be illegal.”

Campaign Life Coalition campaigns manager David Cooke on the coalition’s website called on supporters to back Wagantall’s effort.

“Banning sex-selective abortion should be a no-brainer for our government,” he wrote.