EVEN BY COMMONSENSE MORALITY MORGENTALER, BOROWSKI AND THE CONSTITUTION OF CANADA

Authors

  • M L MCCONNELL

Abstract

In 1988 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that section 251 of the Criminal Code, restricting abortion access, infringed women's constitutionally protected right to life, liberty and security of the person. In 1988 the British Columbia Court of Appeal determined that the unborn child was not a "person" either at common law or under section 203 of the Criminal Code. In 1989 the Law Reform Commission of Canada recommended that "there should be a general crime of causing foetal harm or destruction". The primary purpose of this article is to examine Canadian judicial and legislative reconciliation of demands for reproductive control, personal autonomy andfoetal and community rights, but it also considers the responses to these issues in other jurisdictions. In Canada the cases dealing with the issues are also important in analyzing the post-Charter evolution of the relationship between the courts and the governments in Canada.

Keywords:

Constitutional Law

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Published

1989-12-01

Issue

Section

Legal Commentary