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1nd Session, 35th Parliament, 42 Elizabeth II, 1994
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The House of Commons of Canada
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BILL C-205 |
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| 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
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An Act to amend the Criminal Code (human
being)
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| Preamble
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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;
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And Whereas section 7 of the Canadian
Charter of Rights and Freedoms provides that
everyone has the right to life;
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And Whereas the right to life is the most
fundamental of all human rights;
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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;
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Now, Therefore, Her Majesty, by and with
the advice and consent of the Senate and
House of Commons of Canada, enacts as
follows:
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1. Section 2 of the Criminal Code is
amended by adding the following in
alphabetical order:
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| ``human
being'' « être humain »
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``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;
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| R.S., c. 27 (1st
Supp.), s. 33;
c. 32 (4th
Supp.), s. 56
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2. The heading before section 214 of the
Act is replaced by the following:
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OFFENCES AGAINST THE HUMAN BEING AND REPUTATION |
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3. Subsection 222(4) of the Act is replaced
by the following:
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| Culpable
homicide
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(4) Culpable homicide is murder or
manslaughter.
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4. Section 223 of the Act is repealed.
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5. (1) The heading before section 229 of
the Act is replaced by the following:
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Murder and Manslaughter |
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(2) Section 229 of the Act is renumbered
as subsection 229(1) and is amended by
adding the following:
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| Exception
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(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.
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6. Sections 233 and 234 of the Act are
replaced by the following:
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| Manslaugh- ter
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234. Culpable homicide that is not murder
is manslaughter.
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7. Sections 237 and 238 of the Act are
repealed.
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8. Sections 242 and 243 of the Act and the
heading before it are replaced by the
following:
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NEGLECT IN GIVING BIRTH TO A HUMAN BEING , AND CONCEALING DEAD BODY |
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| Neglect to
obtain
assistance in
giving birth to
a human
being
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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.
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| Concealing
body of
human being
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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.
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9. (1) Subsection 610(2) of the Act is
replaced by the following:
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| Effect of
previous
charge of
murder or
manslaughter
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(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.
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(2) Subsection 610(4) of the Act is
repealed.
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| R.S., c. 27 (1st
Supp.), s. 134
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10. Subsections 662(3) and (4) of the Act
are replaced by the following:
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| Conviction
for
manslaughter
on charge of
murder
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(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.
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| Conviction
for concealing
body of child
where murder
charged
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(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.
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11. Section 663 of the Act is repealed.
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COMING INTO FORCE |
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| Coming into
force
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12. This Act shall come into force on a day
that is one year following the day it is
assented to.
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