The bill was inspired by the story of Cassandra Kaake, a mother who was murdered two years ago in Windsor, Ontario. Cassy was 7 months pregnant with her daughter Molly. Her killer was charged with only one murder, to the shock of family and friends who were also eagerly anticipating Molly’s birth.

Cassie and Molly’s Law would fully protect a woman’s choice to carry a pregnancy to term by making it a crime to injure or kill a pre-born child during the commission of a crime against the mother. The perpetrator would have to know that the woman was pregnant for the law to apply, and a pregnant woman could not be charged under the bill for any harm she inflicted on herself, including receiving an abortion. 

Sadly, the bill was attacked by the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada (ARCC). Ignoring the fact that Cassandra Kaake had both her life and her choice violently taken from her, the ARCC fixated instead on the term “pre-born”. Radical abortion activists have a deep-seated fear that any acknowledgement of pre-born children as wanted, valued, and human will somehow interfere with unfettered access to abortion throughout pregnancy. They continue to insist that protecting any choice besides abortion will be detrimental to abortion “rights”. In so doing, they undermine the meaning of choice and unnecessarily limit legal protection for wanted pre-born children.

This vote tells us that a majority of Members of Parliament are unwilling to support a law against violent crime that would honor a woman’s choice not to have an abortion. They continue to ignore cries for justice and instead allow fear of the abortion discussion to colour their decisions regarding women’s health and safety. Medical teams will fight to save premature babies, but our criminal justice system will not take a stand against violence targeting pregnant women. This devalues the choice of the hundreds of thousands of women each year who desire to carry their child safely to term.

It was clear already early in the debate that the Liberals and NDP feared this bill would somehow undermine “a woman’s right to choose”—even though the bill protects a woman’s choice to carry a pregnancy to term. Has Canada become so polarized over abortion that even the word “pre-born” can shut down a discussion? It seems that this is exactly the case with this bill: rather than be allowed to proceed to the committee stage on its merits, the word “pre-born” has caused its death on the table. Wanted pre-born children remain unrecognized by Canadian law, sending a strong negative message to the women who carry them. Our elected officials in this case chose to be led by fear rather than tackling the sad reality that Canadian law undermines a woman’s right to carry her baby safely to term.

Member of Parliament Cathay Wagantall was deeply touched by the story of Cassandra Kaake and Molly – a murdered mom and her pre-born daughter – and did all she could to fight for this cause. Tens of thousands of Canadians followed the progress of her bill and stood behind her in this fight. Yet a majority of MPs voted based on assumptions, fear, and the hyperbole of a small group of opponents.

Molly’s father, Jeff Durham, and grandmother, Nancy Kaake, poured out their hearts for this bill and saw justice denied them a second time. When it comes to choice, Canada’s justice system continues to protect only one, and women who want to carry their babies in safety are the ones who lose.

#WagantallWednesdays have been a great success so far, and we’re hoping to keep that momentum going as we come into the homestretch before the vote on the bill in early October.

This week we want to challenge you to take another action, slightly different than the last two weeks.

After hearing from some of you that your MPs responded positively that they will support Bill C-225, and from others that they will not out of an unwillingness to risk reopening the abortion debate, we have crafted 3 new letters in response.  You can use these letters to send a note of encouragement and thanks to your supportive MP, or to put to rest the fears or challenge the assumptions of an MP looking at this from a pro-abortion angle, and to ask them to also talk to their colleagues about this bill.

Below you will find these 3 new letters. We challenge you to choose the one most applicable to your MP and either handwrite it out the good ol’ fashioned way, or copy and paste it into your personal email to send it to your MP. (The link below will help you find your MP’s name and email address).

MPs have told us that emails from personal accounts hold more weight than form letters, and handwritten letters are rare and always noticed – in this small way you can encourage your MP in their support of pre-born human rights, or ask them to consider again what kind of “choice” they are allowing in Canada.

Here are the letters to get you started: 

Thank you for supporting Bill C-225!

Dear (MP name),

I wanted to take a moment to thank you for your response and your willingness to support Bill C-225, Cassie and Molly’s Law.  I want to encourage you to keep up the great work, and know that you are appreciated by those you represent.

I hope you will talk to your colleagues about this important issue, and encourage them also to stand up for the value of a woman’s choice to carry her child.  People like you can make a big difference in our Parliament and I look forward to continuing to follow your work.

Sincerely,

(Your name and postal code)

On the fence about Bill C-225?

Dear (MP name),

I am unaware of whether you have decided whether to support Cathay Wagantall’s private member’s bill, Bill C-225 (also known as Cassie and Molly’s Law). There has been some pushback from the pro-abortion movement fearing that this bill, which would make it a separate crime or aggravating factor to kill an unborn child during an attack on its mother, will somehow infringe on a woman’s “right” to choose abortion.

It is absolutely clear from an independent legal opinion released by Wagantall’s office that this is not the case. Instead, the motivation for these arguments is a fear of recognizing that the unborn child is, in fact, more than just a lump of worthless cells. Unfortunately, this argument by those who claim to be “pro-choice” reveals that they aren’t pro-choice at all: the only choice they care about protecting is the choice of abortion.

Bill C-225 recognizes that many women make a choice to keep and carry their child, and that choice also needs to be protected. Pregnant women need the support of society to validate their choice to carry a child.

Bill C-225 clearly values a woman’s choice, including her choice to carry her child. If that choice is taken away from her, there should be consequences for the one who took it.

Will you please support this bill when it is voted on in October? I’d really appreciate hearing your thoughts on this and knowing I can count on you to represent me accurately in Parliament.

Sincerely,

(Your name and postal code)

Afraid Bill C-225 will affect abortion rights?

Dear (MP name),

Thank you for taking the time to consider whether to vote in favour of Bill C-225, Cassie and Molly’s Law. This bill would stand up for pregnant women whose choice to carry their child is taken away from them by a violent crime that damages or kills their child in the womb.

You may be feeling pressured by the “pro-choice” fear that recognizing the value of a wanted pregnancy will somehow infringe on abortion rights or access. In fact, an independent legal opinion on this bill makes it clear that this is in no way the case.

Only a third party can be charged under this bill, not the woman herself, and only in a case where the woman does not consent, such as when she is victimized by intimate partner violence or other violent crime. This protects abortion doctors who obtain consent prior to performing an abortion. In short, there is no possible impact on abortion through this bill.

The “pro-choice” fear, however, is that a bill such as Cassie and Molly’s Law will get into people’s minds and make them think about the unborn child as something other than a blob of tissue. This fear shows that the only choice they protect is abortion; they ignore a woman’s choice to carry her child and give it life.  Voting against this bill means voting against choice, and tells women Canadians only care about them if their choice is abortion.

Please discuss this with any of your colleagues who may be uncertain on this issue, or making their choice based on fear, and so doing no service to Canadian women.

Can I count on you to represent me by supporting this bill, and so supporting women who choose the often-difficult path of keeping their child? Vote in favour of harsher consequences for those who violently take away a woman’s choice, and help fill a gap in our criminal code.

Thank you for your time and consideration,

(Your name and postal code)

Once you’ve chosen your letter and are ready to mail it out or press “send”, here’s what you need to know:

Postage to the House of Commons is FREE. Send your letter to:

(MP Name)

House of Commons

Ottawa, ON

K1A 0A6

To find your MP’s name and/or email address, search by postal code at the Parliament of Canada website.

BONUS free gift for handwriters! If you handwrote a letter, take a picture and email it to us (info@test.weneedalaw.ca), and we’ll send you your choice of a free We Need a Law lanyard or rubber bracelet. Along with the image, send us your preferred mailing address and choice of gift and we’ll get it on it’s way to say THANK YOU for taking the time to get involved.

Bill C-225 was introduced in February 2016 in response to a void in Canadian law that offers no recognition to the preborn child of a woman who has chosen to carry that child. This devalues both that woman and her choice. Statistics Canada reports that domestic violence affects more than 10,000 pregnant women per year. This law would be a step in addressing violence against pregnant women by making it clear that her choice to carry her child is respected and protected.

According to the independent poll, nearly 70% of Canadians say that they support a law that would make it a separate crime to harm or cause the death of a preborn child while harming a pregnant woman. Cassie and Molly’s Law has also been publicly endorsed by the Native Women’s Association of Canada and the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime.

MP Wagantall was encouraged by the clear results of the poll, stating in a press release that, “Ultimately a comprehensive strategy to end violence against women must include many targeted initiatives and legal reforms, including new penalties for those who target pregnant women.” Her proposed legislation will create a new offence that would apply when crimes committed against pregnant women result in the injury or death of their preborn child. The bill also codifies into law pregnancy as an aggravating factor for the purposes of sentencing.

ACTION: We have two new Simple Mails to send to your MP drawing their attention to these poll results and asking them to support Cassie & Molly’s Law with their vote. Please take 10 minutes of your time to send one of these letters, or, better yet, give your MP a phone call!

You can see the full poll results, including the questions asked, at the link below.

MP Cathay Wagantall & Dr Dawn Lavell Harvard from the Native Women’s Association of Canada, posted on Wagantall’s Facebook page.

The endorsed bill is C-225, a private member’s bill introduced by Member of Parliament Cathay Wagantall earlier this year. According to Wagantall, her bill would “add new sentences for criminals who knowingly harm a pregnant woman and her fetus.” As indicated by the short name of the bill – Cassie and Molly’s Law – the genesis for C-225 is the tragic story of Cassandra Kaake and her daughter Molly who were brutally murdered nearly eighteen months ago.

Since December 2014 the families of the murder victims have been protesting the fact that Canadian law refuses to recognize the life and value of little Molly – even though she had been very much alive for thirty weeks prior to being murdered.

Jeff Durham, the partner of Cassandra Kaake,father of Molly and spokesperson for the Molly Matters campaign, summarizes the campaign by saying, “The premise of our cause, first and foremost, is that a woman who has chosen to become a mother deserves and should have the protection of law for the life that represents her choice.”

C-225 does nothing to change the status quo on abortion in Canada (abortion remains legal for any reason up to the moment of birth). It is a common sense piece of legislation that would simply level the playing field when it comes to protecting a woman’s choice. After all, if we are going to protect the right to choose to abort a child, shouldn’t we also protect a woman’s choice to carry her child to term safely?
Nearly a decade ago, when a similar bill was introduced, it had overwhelming support from the Canadian public. While that bill failed to pass due to a federal election it appears that Wagantall is working hard to ensure that the overwhelming public support for such a law translates into policy this time around.

The endorsement from the Native Women’s Association – whose collective goal is to enhance, promote, and foster the social, economic, cultural and political well-being of First Nations and Métis women within First Nation, Métis and Canadian societies – should go a long way in silencing some of the critics of Cassie and Molly’s law. In spite of Wagantall’s bill being a commonsense piece of legislation, there is a small handful of self-proclaimed women’s rights activists who apparently only advocate for the right to have an abortion, and not the right to give birth to a child. Standing up for women should include protecting their right to carry a child to term. A cursory glance at the Molly Matters website shows that Cassandra Kaake and her family were excited about Molly’s birth. Yet the law refuses to protect that choice.

We should not accept that abortion of unwanted preborn children is such a sacrosanct act that we refuse to protect wanted preborn children and their pregnant mothers from injury or death at the hands of violent criminals. Clearly Wagantall and Durham are not satisfied with the status quo and are working hard to enact legislative changes. The endorsement from the powerful voice of the Native Women’s Association of Canada provides a welcome boost to their efforts.

Building support for a pre-born victims of crime law is a unique opportunity to work with a broad range of Canadians from across the pro-life/pro-choice spectrum as we seek to advance legislation recognizing the worth of children in the womb.

There are many ways in which we can help this hurting family. Today we are asking you to commit to these three actions: 

1. Please watch the short 3-minute YouTube video and share it with as many people as you can. 

2. Set aside another 3 minutes to send a link for the Molly Matters video directly from your email to your Member of Parliament and the Prime Minister (Justin.Trudeau@parl.gc.ca). You can find your MPs email address here. 

3. Take another 3 minutes to send this Simple Mail letter to your Member of Parliament.

Do you have 9 minutes to help make a difference? Molly matters! 

In the words of Durham:

“There exists no reasonable argument or possibility that the person responsible for the murder of Cassie did not know she was pregnant. There exists no reasonable argument or possibility that the person responsible for this did not intend to kill both Cassie and the baby she carried. In Canada, there exists no law against what this person did to our daughter.

…The Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada claims to be a “voice for choice,” but where are they now? Where are the ones that so ardently defend a woman’s right to choose? Should they not be standing up and screaming for Cassie? For a woman whose choice was violently and intentionally ripped away from her?”

You can read the rest of his emotional speech here.