Essex MP Jeff Watson is applauding the efforts of those behind a petition looking to have the Unborn Victims of Crime Act brought back before parliament.
However, Watson says the petition alone, sparked by the murder of pregnant Cassandra Kaake in Windsor, is not enough.
"It will require a strong consensus of Canadians in the aftermath of an unfortunate tragedy like this to begin to lock arms together to say, 'You know what? The law should be changed,'" says Watson, adding he's unsure if the government he sits with is willing to bring back the legislation. "It's uncertain at this point if the government itself would entertain bringing forward government legislation in this regard; they certainly have not indicated at any point to now that they would."
The bill in question, Bill C-484, was lost when parliament was dissolved for the 2008 federal election and had opposition from abortion rights advocates calling it a step towards re-criminalizing abortion.
"It's very clear that [the bill] specifically excludes abortion and it was written to apply only when a murder is committed against a pregnant woman and it is reasonably known that the woman in fact is pregnant," says Watson.
The petition is titled Molly Matters after the baby's planned named. Molly's father, Jeff Durham, wrote an open letter to Watson pushing for the bill to be revisited. Watson responded with his own open letter Tuesday evening.