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e-641 (Infertility)

E-petition
Initiated by Elizabeth Powers from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

Original language of petition: English

Petition to the Government of Canada

Whereas:
  • The condition of barrenness, which is the inability of women and men to conceive their children or to successfully produce them, affects approximately 100 million couples worldwide. It has numerous emotional and psychological consequences, particularly for women who often experience strong feelings of guilt, profound sadness, and decreased value as a woman and as a spouse or partner;
  • For many, the appalling treatment from others in their communities heightens their anguish;
  • In 2016, barren women in several countries continue to be written off as “useless”, viewed as “burdens” to their communities, referred to as being cursed by “evil spirits”, and dreadfully abused, psychologically and emotionally; and
  • With the World Health Organization prediction that infertility and sterility (i.e. barrenness) will be the third-most serious disease worldwide in the 21st century, after cancer and cardiovascular diseases, it is paramount that social advancement of barrenness is initiated.
We, the undersigned, Residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to 1. Assume the lead role in raising awareness about the social and health issue of barrenness in Canada and internationally by creating educative programs that clarify what it is and its life-altering impacts on those affected by it.
2. Take the steps necessary for ‘Being Human as One’, a ground-breaking ethic specific to human reproduction and that fosters treating the barren with the equality, dignity, and consideration they deserve, to be added to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Open for signature
November 8, 2016, at 3:21 p.m. (EDT)
Closed for signature
March 8, 2017, at 3:21 p.m. (EDT)
Photo - Sean Casey
Charlottetown
Liberal Caucus
Prince Edward Island