(Quebec) The elected members of the National Assembly unanimously adopted, on Wednesday, Bill 12 which is part of the reform of family law and aims in particular to protect children born of rape.
After the vote, Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette said the new law would “better protect Quebec families” by responding more adequately to their needs.
Under the law, a mother victim of rape will now be able to refuse the aggressor the establishment of her paternity.
PHOTO JACQUES BOISSINOT, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Quebec Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette
A sexual aggressor may be required to pay compensation to provide for the needs of the child resulting from the rape. The latter can inherit the aggressor after his death.
In addition, the burden of proof in matters of forfeiture of parental authority will now rest on the offending parent when a judgment recognizes that he has committed an offense of a sexual nature against a child.
When tabling his bill last February, the minister said he was strongly inspired by the case of Océane, reported by the daily The Press in August 2022.
The young woman, who had had a child following a rape, had been unable to refuse to her attacker the establishment of her paternity with her child.
The Department of Justice estimates that more than 170 children are born from rape each year in Quebec.
“We all agree that this is a situation that is […] despicable. The message we want to send to Océane today is that thanks to her, […] the laws will change,” said Mr. Jolin-Barrette.
“A mother who has experienced such a traumatic event should not live with the fear that one day her attacker will seek to have rights over her child,” he added.
Surrogate pregnancy
Law 12 also establishes a process to regulate pregnancy for others, so that the rights of children and mothers are protected. The agreements concluded so far had no legal value.
The government relies on certain fundamental principles:
- the woman who carries the child retains full autonomy to dispose of her body as she sees fit;
- she can unilaterally terminate the surrogacy agreement at any time;
- remuneration is prohibited, but the reimbursement of certain expenses is admissible;
- intending parents who change their minds along the way cannot abandon the child.
Both the intended parents and the woman who plans to carry the child will have to participate in a preliminary information session. A notarized agreement whose content is defined by law will be mandatory.
Assisted reproduction
The last section provides that children who will be born from a donation of gametes or from a pregnancy for someone else can also have access to knowledge of their origins.
In certain circumstances, the child will have the right to know the name and profile of the third party, as well as the information allowing him to contact him, unless the latter refuses to contact him.
A register will be created to allow children resulting from assisted procreation to access their origins.
“Bill 12, an important part of our family law reform, was passed unanimously. […] Throughout the work, it is the interest of the children that has guided our decisions,” said Mr. Jolin-Barrette with satisfaction.
Continuation of Bill 2
The minister passed Bill 2 last year, which mainly dealt with the issue of gender identity and the recognition of non-binary people.
He had run out of time and withdrew from the bill the entire section on the supervision of surrogacy, ie the contracts between intended parents and surrogate mothers.
His Bill 12 took up the component on surrogate mothers and added others, in particular on children born of rape.