Members of Parliament will vote today on whether to re-examine at what point a human fetus becomes a human being.
Section 223(1) of the Criminal Code of Canada currently states: "A child becomes a human being within the meaning of this Act when it has completely proceeded, in a living state from the body of its mother."
"Until a child's little toe pops out of the birth canal, that child is not recognized as a human being in Canada," said Stephen Woodworth, the Conservative MP from Kitchener Centre. "This law dehumanizes and excludes an entire class of people we know to be human beings, namely children, before the moment of birth."
Woodward's private member's motion, if passed, would require Parliament to form a committee to review the criminal code definition.
Critics of the current legislation, including Yorkton-Melville MP Garry Breitkreuz, who confirmed by telephone from Ottawa that he would be voting for the motion, say it is high time for Canadians to have this discussion.
"Borrowed from British Common law, where it was expressed as early as 1642, the definition was developed at a time when medical science knew nothing about the development of babies in the womb," Breitkreuz wrote in his weekly Op-Ed Column dated the week of September 24.
"In today's world, where we can now see a baby's heart beat and can even operate on a baby in utero, Motion 312 seeks to review the definition in light of 21st century medical knowledge."
The motion is unlikely to receive much support from the medical community, however. Delegates to the Canadian Medical Association annual general council meeting held in August voted to oppose it.
Pro-choice proponents have widely criticized the motion as a back-door attempt to reopen debate on a potential Canadian abortion law that would restrict or eliminate access to the procedure.
Woodward dismisses this criticism saying his motivation is "irrelevant" and called any discussion of abortion a "distraction." That has not stopped activists on both sides of the abortion question from staging demonstrations, however.
The word on Parliament Hill is that there is little chance the motion will pass, but Breitkreuz remains optimistic.
"Stephen told me a couple of days ago that he still doesn't have the 50 per cent he needs, but he's still talking to MPs," he said. "At this point I don't know what's going to happen."
Even Woodworth has acknowledged the initiative is likely doomed. "At this point I am not optimistic that I will come close to the 50 per cent required to pass this motion," he told the Globe and Mail last week.
If it does pass, it is not likely to lead to abortion legislation. Prime Minister Stephen Harper is adamant that his government will not propose any legislation on abortion and has publicly announced he will vote against the motion.
There have also been rumours that Harper is campaigning against the motion behind-the-scenes, but Breitkreuz said he hasn't seen any evidence of that.
"He has declared it a free vote," the MP said. "I'm not aware of it."
According to at least one poll, Canadians remain widely divided on the issue of abortion. A 2011 Environics poll commissioned by the LifeCanada, a national association of pro-life groups suggests up to 72 per cent of Canadians favour some legislated restriction on abortion. This includes those who believe legal protection should be afforded to fetuses at conception (28 per cent), from two months on (17 per cent), from three months on (17 per cent), and from six months (10 per cent).
Only 20 per cent favoured the status quo and nine per cent had no opinion. This poll was conducted by telephone with a sample size of 2,000 adult Canadians in conjunction with Environics' Omnibus Poll. Surveys of this size are considered to be statistically accurate to within 2.2 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
