Petition to the MP Housefather and PM Trudeau
Liberal MP Puts a Price Tag on Women with Rent-a-Womb Bill
Liberal MP Puts a Price Tag on Women with Rent-a-Womb Bill
Liberal MP Anthony Housefather introduced legislation on May 29th, 2018, that would effectively market Canadian women and their wombs as a new commodity to “rent”.
The intention of Bill C-404 is “to decriminalize payment for sperm or ovum donation and for surrogacy.” What this means, in simplest terms, is that women will be able to be used and abused as chattel for the benefit of men who wish to “rent” their wombs.
This is nothing short of a return to slavery - in 2018.
Bill C-404 also directs that the seeds of human life be commodified and placed on the open market. Sperm, ova, and human genes will be able to be bought and sold with the purpose of creating designer babies. Everything involved in the creation of a new human life will be “on sale”.
The abuses of such schemes are well-known and well-documented – with India being an egregious example. (See this report from 2016).
It is unbelievable that the government of Canada is even talking about commodifying human life – and renting women’s wombs! Such barbarism has not existed since the slave trade was abolished in 1807.
“I think slavery is the next thing to hell. If a person would send another into bondage, he would, it appears to me, be bad enough to send him into hell if he could.” – Harriet Tubman, former slave, and slave emancipator.
This hideous and regressive bill should have never seen the light of day. Prime minister Justin Trudeau should have stopped it in its tracks. The fact that he did not betrays his lack of genuine commitment to women, women’s rights, and feminism.
No woman wants to be used as a “rent-a-womb” – not unless she were desperate and vulnerable. Women need to be protected, not exploited. Human life needs to be valued, not marketed!
FOR FURTHER READING
-ARPA article: https://arpacanada.ca/news/2018/05/30/new-bill-would-allow-commercialization-of-human-reproduction/
-The Guardian article: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/apr/01/outsourcing-pregnancy-india-surrogacy-clinics-julie-bindel
-Bill C-404: http://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/bill/C-404/first-reading
-Assisted Human Reproduction Act: http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/A-13.4/page-1.html
Sign this petition now!
Withdraw Bill C-404 - Stop Rent-a-Womb
Dear Hon. Anthony Housefather and Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau,
I was surprised and appalled by the introduction of Bill C-404, an Act to amend the Assisted Human Reproduction Act.
The purpose of Bill C-404 is “to decriminalize payment for sperm or ovum donation and for surrogacy.”
This means that women will be able to be used and abused as chattel for the benefit of men who wish to “rent” their wombs.
This also means that the seeds of human life will be commodified and placed on the open market. Sperm, ova, and human genes will be able to be bought and sold for the purpose of creating designer babies. Everything involved in the creation of a new human life will be “on sale”.
Furthermore, the example of India demonstrates the grave abuses that legalized surrogacy brings to women. (See the following report from the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/apr/01/outsourcing-pregnancy-india-surrogacy-clinics-julie-bindel).
This is nothing short of a return to slavery - in 2018. This is completely unacceptable.
I am calling on you to immediately withdraw Bill C-404 and ensure that no other Bill of similar intent be brought forward again by your government.
