Mr. Speaker, because the time is short, I want to make three points.
I want to thank the member for raising this issue, which deals with some fundamental values. It is important for Canadians to hear this discussion. It is a valid debate and I can see no better place than the Parliament of Canada for holding it.
Currently, under the laws of Canada, the fetus has no rights. It is interesting to note that the U.S. secretary of health and human services amended the regulations, which he oversees, to amend the definition of child. Now the definition of a child is a person under 19 years of age, including the period from conception to birth. The United States did this for one reason. Medical science today is doing a lot of work in terms of rectifying problems detected in a fetus prior to birth. Insurance companies were not going to pay for this because a child was defined as someone who was born. The change in the regulations took into account the fact that real work was being done that should be covered by insurance companies, and the change in the regulations did just that.
Therefore, this is not an entirely irrelevant discussion.
With regard to domestic violence, members should know that the two most prevalent periods for domestic violence are after a breakup or during pregnancy. That is a fact. Bill C-291 would have been votable had it not asked for double jeopardy or two penalties. Had the bill been worded that if the mother were injured or died and the aggressor knew she was pregnant, this would have represented aggravating circumstances, and that would have warranted stiffer penalties than otherwise would have been prescribed under the law. This would have been appropriate here and we would have had a vote.
The member is not totally offside on this issue. However, under the circumstances, it is unfortunate that the House will not have an opportunity this time to talk about these issues. It is very clear that once conception occurs, there is a virtual certainty that a child will be born.