The Northern Slippery Slope
One more post on the precipitously declining moral standards of Western civilization, and I'll start writing about something else. A Canada woman who in 2005 strangled her newborn son has, after two overturned murder convictions, been given a suspended sentence (read: no time in jail) of three years and a downgraded conviction for "infanticide." The story I just linked to highlights the judge's rationale for her leniency, in which she implies that a relaxed attitude toward the murder of breathing infants is the logical next step after legal abortion.
For my part, I was astounded to find out that murder and infanticide are actually different crimes in Canada. Perhaps this is old news to some of you, but infanticide is defined thusly in Canadian law (source):
233. A female person commits infanticide when by a wilful act or omission she causes the death of her newly-born child, if at the time of the act or omission she is not fully recovered from the effects of giving birth to the child and by reason thereof or of the effect of lactation consequent on the birth of the child her mind is then disturbed. R.S., c. C-34, s. 216.
In the eyes of Canadians, "the effects of giving birth" (or, more bizarrely, of breastfeeding) are so disorienting as to constitute in themselves an extenuating circumstance. And not just a little extenuating, either. The maximum sentence for infanticide is "imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years."
Abominable.
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Dec '10
Re: The Northern Slippery Slope
This is the natual progression of easily available abortion. I suspect that many parents will support this if the termination time is exended to the teen years.
Re: The Northern Slippery Slope
"You know, I'm personally against 4th trimester abortions, but I wouldn't infringe upon anyone's reproductive rights with my personal views."
Jan '11
Re: The Northern Slippery Slope
From the linked article: Infanticide proponent Peter Singer, a top ethicist at Princeton University, has said, for example, “there is no sharp distinction between the foetus and the newborn baby.”
Well, um, yeah ... we know ... that's the point ...
Jun '10
Re: The Northern Slippery Slope
As long as it never interferes with her qualification to be Canada's Prime Minister or Minister of Defense. You just have to keep babies out of the room.
May '10
Re: The Northern Slippery Slope
All of Canada is fit for tar and feathers.
Aug '11
Re: The Northern Slippery Slope
The overwhelming majority of Canadians are fine, decent people.
Aug '10
Re: The Northern Slippery Slope
Canada - illegal to drink beer while you are fishing in a boat . Pretty much sums it up for me . Or a darned good clue
¿ Cas ?
Edited on September 16, 2011 at 2:54amJun '10
Re: The Northern Slippery Slope
flownover: Canada - illegal to drink beer while you are fishing in a boat . Pretty much sums it up for me . Or a darned good clue
¿ Cas ? · Sep 15 at 5:53pm
Edited on Sep 15 at 05:54 pm
Illegal to drink a beer, or illegal to be drunk while operating a fast-moving motorized vehicle?
Aug '10
Re: The Northern Slippery Slope
Sgt Preston I presume ?
Oct '10
Re: The Northern Slippery Slope
The hate speech laws and kanagroo courts in the Human Rights Commision in Canada came be quite something.
Canadians in large part truly good people, the ruling classes and policies tend to verge on the minutae and deluded. Almost as oddly out of whack as the UK.
Jun '10
Re: The Northern Slippery Slope
Bijan Aboutorabi:
In the eyes of Canadians, "the effects of giving birth" (or, more bizarrely, of breastfeeding) are so disorienting as to constitute in themselves an extenuating circumstance. And not just a little extenuating, either. The maximum sentence for infanticide is "imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years."
Abominable. ·
Please consider:
Defining postpartum depression
Researchers have identified three types of postpartum depression: baby blues; postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis.
Without reading the transcript of the trial there is nothing else I will post on this topic. Please note the emboldened text in the statute cited.
As for fishing and drinking, I have personal knowledge of one accident wherein two people known to me personally drowned while so engaged.
May '10
Re: The Northern Slippery Slope
Tom Paine
The overwhelming majority of Canadians are fine, decent people. · Sep 15 at 5:41pm
I withdraw the remark. Queen's Bench Judge Joanne Veit is fit for tar and feathers.
Aug '10
Re: The Northern Slippery Slope
Cas I have similar unfortunate anecdotes and lots of reckless friends. Its a view of the culture, in Canada's case , quasi-governmental chaos and resulting abandonment of homo sapien reason.
Jun '10
Re: The Northern Slippery Slope
Flownover, I have long been thinking of writing an essay on the differences between Canadians and Americans as I perceive them and as they are at times evidenced on Ricochet. I have not done this to date, as the task seems daunting. Your comment is one that pushes me in that direction, so I may take a stab at it when I am next facing the white screen.
Oct '10
Re: The Northern Slippery Slope
Hold on a minute. The Canadian legal position doesn't seem crazy to me, although I can understand other societies deciding to take a different view. The argument would be something like this:
Indeed, since the Infanticide Act of 1922 (then 1938) this sort of approach has been the Law in England, and I have no doubt that this is where the Canadian provisions have their genesis.
I commend to all the first three paragraphs of this speech in the House of Lords.
Oct '10
Re: The Northern Slippery Slope
tl;dr - the (reported remark of the) judge is ignorant and stupid; the law is not.
Aug '10
Re: The Northern Slippery Slope
Cas After sleeping on it, it is clearly my refutation with a nanny state. In this case , a state which can be murderously coddling.
Jun '10
Re: The Northern Slippery Slope
You are tempting me to confront that big white screen, flownover.
Aug '10
Re: The Northern Slippery Slope
As a matter of fact, Canada's infanticide law was first passed in 1948 (patterned on an earlier British law), while it wasn't until 1988 that the Supreme Court struck down Canada's abortion laws (15 years after Roe vs. Wade).
As such, there would appear to be no correlation between infanticide laws and easily available abortion.
Dec '10
Re: The Northern Slippery Slope
Misthiocracy
As a matter of fact, Canada's infanticide law was first passed in 1948 (patterned on an earlier British law), while it wasn't until 1988 that the Supreme Court struck down Canada's abortion laws (15 years after Roe vs. Wade).
As such, there would appear to be no correlation between infanticide laws and easily available abortion. · Sep 16 at 8:31am
I was refering to the slap on the wrist, not the law