The "mother" - who was 19 years old at the time - had given birth in her parents' home secretly in 2005, then threw his body over the fence. Two juries had previously found her guilty of second degree murder; these convictions were overturned on appeal. An appeals court then replaced the murder charge with a lesser charge - that of infantacide. Justice Joanne Veit of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench sentenced the "mother" to a 3-year suspended sentence, which allowed her to go free.
The judge shared her reasoning by saying “while many Canadians undoubtedly view abortion as a less than ideal solution to unprotected sex and unwanted pregnancy, they generally understand, accept and sympathize with the onerous demands pregnancy and childbirth exact from mothers, especially mothers without support. Naturally, Canadians are grieved by an infant’s death, especially at the hands of the infant’s mother, but Canadians also grieve for the mother.”
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I wonder if Canadians really think this is excusable? If so, I admit, they are far more "open-minded" than I will ever be. And if acceptance of the willful murder of a newborn baby constitutes "open-mindedness", then I hope to always remain unwavering in my defense of life.
ALL life.
I live in Canada, and I have a hard time believing that ANYONE could find this excusable. It's murder and opening the door to allow infanticide. Yuck. And you can't accurately judge a whole country of people because one of person's decision..that's like saying all Americans are rude because one person did something to you. I don't know a single person who would have been ok with that judge's decision.
ReplyDeletehttp://ramblingsmom.com
Thank you, Savannah. The judge's stated rationale for her decision was that Canadians understand, sympathize with, and grieve for the mother... I didn't think the average Canadian would approve of this decision!
ReplyDeleteNCSue
I think it sends a message that it is "okay" to do this if faced with an unwanted pregnancy instead of dealing with it more rationally, perhaps looking for ways to educate people faced with such a situation that they will not feel despair, but rather hope, i.e. pregnancy counseling centers, positive views on adoption, etc. It is a sad situation and I would find it deplorable, no matter what country I lived in.
ReplyDeletebetty
I agree with Savannah.You can't judge a whole country by one act. I am Canadian as well and do not excuse what this mother did. Yes, I am open-minded and yes, I am pro-choice but do not agree with murder! Murder is murder.
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How could that judge even say such a ludicrous thing? It's totally contrary to human instinct--in any country.
ReplyDeleteWow... weird. I mean sure you can sympathise with the mother and all but to just leave it at that? I don't think so. And just likening it to abortion is so wrong. WTF :P
ReplyDeleteWhat is this world coming to?!? Thank you for bringing this horrible event to light - I just don't know what people are thinking anymore.
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I'm glad to see people blog about this-- it's unbelievable that she was allowed to go free!
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No matter what a woman's situation, murder is wrong. I can't believe this judge actually said what she said.
ReplyDeleteHello dear,
ReplyDeleteI didn't heard about this story and indeed it's very strange. By the way, I'm Grace a new follower bringing some smile from the saturday blog hop.
Hope to see you in my blog too
Thank you for posting on this! I posted on it here (http://bedlamorparnassus.blogspot.com/2011/09/kill-em-all.html), and when I did, there were exactly five...five...articles about this on Google news. No outrage. Nothing. I am also glad to see the Canadians who have commented here that they do not fit this judge's description of them.
ReplyDeleteThis is so horrible but honestly, this is where this line of logic leads to. What is different about a newborn and a pre-born? Not a lot really other than stage of development. Soon a toddler will be fair game. Then who knows?
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, murder is murder.
Wow, that is one of the most shocking things I have heard since the Casey Anthony trial in the states. I seriously doubt the judge was speaking on behalf of the majority of Canadians. She was talking about her own view and made the judgement personal. Shame on the judge!
ReplyDeleteSomething is drastically wrong with a woman who would do this to her child and something is drastically wrong with a judge who would excuse it. What's the next move? Dad leaves mom for another woman and mom kills all her kids because she can't support them?
ReplyDeleteWow. Unbelievable! I agree with Noreen and Barb.
ReplyDeleteThought provoking post. I am Canadian born but a naturalized American citizen, and I, for one, would definitely NOT support the judge's decision.
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This sickening ruling is apparently the result of devaluing human life in the womb. Are we on a downward spiral to allowing infanticide or killing off anyone considered an 'onerous burden' on others? Hopefully that fool of a judge will be removed and disciplined for delivering such an insane decision. God have mercy on her and on that young woman who murdered her baby.
ReplyDeleteHey, I feel sorry for the girl! Yes, it was a terrible thing she did, but we don't know what she was thinking. She gave birth alone, unsupported, maybe didn't really understand what was happening. Let's not judge harshly - the abortionists who do their work in full knowledge are far more guilty than she is. What she does need is a lot of counselling. And love.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you. It is a sad day when a new baby is looked upon as a burden to be gotten rid of.
ReplyDeleteCharlotte
How sad! Murder is murder and being a Canadian, I too am horrified that the judge ruled in this manner. God help this land of ours! More and more it seems as though the wrong doers are viewed as the victims these days.
ReplyDeleteSandi
I'm Canadian and I don't like this ruling either. Please don't judge us as a whole based on this one case, like we shouldn't judge the US on a case like Casey Anthony (I think that's her name). I don't agree with this verdict either, that is just so disturbing. In Canada we do have a law, I apologize I cannot remember the term for it, and it's for post-partum mom's but is very hard to prove and extremely rarely used. I remember learning about it in high school law class. I'm sure you can google it though.
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