On July 14th, 2017, Winnipeg’s Andrea Giesbrecht was sentenced to 8 and half years in prison for storing the bodies of 6 infants in a storage locker.
Based on this National Post article, it is clear that the judge presiding over this case believed that it was inappropriate for Giesbrecht to place the bodies of the infants in this storage locker. However, a careful reading of the article suggests that it was that action alone that warranted the resulting prison sentence.
The article clearly states that the crown was unable to show that Giesbrecht was guilty of murder because they could not prove that these children had lived outside of Giesbrecht’s body. This result shows once again that these infants were not viewed as human beings by the court, despite the clear tangible evidence that proves their humanity.
Furthermore, if you read the judge’s reasoning regarding the length of the sentence, it had nothing to do with the trauma and torture that was inflicted on these 6 innocent children:
Giesbrecht, (has) not committed a victimless crime. Anyone forced to grapple with the evidence in this case — the workers who found the bodies, the police officers who processed them, court officials, psychologists, and others who produced and scrutinized the evidence — had suffered.
While I agree that those mentioned by the judge were victims of Giesbrecht’s actions, it is clear that there were 6 innocent infant children who were the ultimate victims. Unfortunately there was no justice issued on their behalf as Giesbrecht was not punished for the crimes that she committed against them.
While many in the pro-life crowd are appeased with the sentence, I believe that it shows the short comings of our society as it relates to how we view the humanity of prenatal children.
The way I look at it, this verdict suggests that Giesbrecht was guilty of nothing more then improperly disposing of the remains of 6 abortions. It suggests that she would have been perfectly innocent if the bodies of these infants would have been treated in the same way as the other 11 children she aborted.
Although I am clearly saddened by this verdict, I hope that it will show everybody involved in the case the humanity of unborn children. I do not believe in using graphic images like this as a tool to educate the public about abortions as it may cause people unnecessary psychological distress, but now that these people have seen these infants first hand, my hope is that it will serve as a powerful reminder to them regarding the humanity of prenatal children!
Photo by Thomas Martinsen on Unsplash