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Fetal Syndromes and the Charter: The Winnipeg Glue-Sniffing Case

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2014

Thelma McCormack
Thelma McCormack
Affiliation:
Institute for Social Research, York University
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Abstract

The relationship between scientific knowledge and legal discourse is raised once again by a recent decision of the Supreme Court of Canada, a case involving a young Aboriginal woman who was pregnant and ordered by the court to remain in a drug treatment program at a health center until the baby was born. Her glue-sniffing habit was deemed dangerous to the normal development of the fetus. The Court held that her solvent-dependency did not justify the original court action, but both the Court and the various interveners disregarded the current state of our knowledge on the fetal syndromes. There is thus a continuing disconnect between the scientific understanding of fetal risk and the development of Constitutional law around women's reproductive rights. This paper reviews the case and follows it through the appellate process; we examine the research literature on fetal syndromes tracking the changes over time. Finally we comment on the interventions by the Winnipeg Child and Family Services, the Women's Health Rights Coalition, by The Canadian Civil Liberties Association, and both The Canadian Abortion Rights Action League and the Women's Legal Education and Action Fund.

Résumé

La relation entre connaissance scientifique et discours juridique est interrogée de nouveau par une décision récente de la Cour suprême du Canada, une affaire concernant une jeune femme autochtone, enceinte, à laquelle la cour avait ordonné de suivre un programme de traitement pour toxicomanes dans un centre de santé jusqu'à la naissance du bébé. Son habitude d'inhaler des vapeurs de colle fut considérée dangereuse pour le développement du fétus. La Cour suprême décida que sa dépendance de solvants ne justifiait pas l'action de la cour inférieure, mais tant la Cour que les différents intervenants ne tenaient ainsi compte de l'etat des connaissances sur les syndromes du fétus. Le clivage entre la compréhension scientifique du risque pour le fétus et le développement du droit constitutionnel dans le domaine des droits reproductifs des femmes persiste done. Cet article analyse le cas en le suivant lors de la procédure d'appel; nous étudions la documentation scientifique consacrée aux syndromes du fétus pour en dégager les changements dans le temps. Enfin, nous interpréterons les interventions des Winnipeg Child and Family Services, de la Women's Health Rights Coalition, de la Canadian Civil Liberties Association, de la Canadian Abortion Rights Action League et du Women's Legal Education and Action Fund.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Law and Society / La Revue Canadienne Droit et Société , Volume 14 , Issue 2 , Fall/automne 1999 , pp. 77 - 99
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Law and Society Association 1999

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References

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