Windsor man continues push to make it a crime to harm unborn child

The Windsor man pushing to change Canadian laws so they include punishments for anyone harming an unborn baby continued his appeal for political support Friday.

Jeff Durham met with several federal politicians from the Windsor region to gauge their interest in the campaign he started after his former girlfriend Cassandra Kaake was slain in her east-end home last December at the age of 31.

Though the couple had separated, she was pregnant with Durham's child at the time.

Matthew Brush has been charged with murder in connection with Kaake's death, but Durham and his supporters say Canadian laws should go further to hold people responsible for harming an unborn child.

On Friday, Durham said he got good feedback from the region's MPs for his campaign to change the country's criminal code.

"It's good to know they agree this issue transcends any political affiliation and party group," he said after emerging from his meeting. "We all agree that something has to be done."

Durham has been trying to revive Bill C-484, a Conservative private member's bill that called for the changes he wants to see. That bill, though, failed to receive support before the 2008 federal election.

Back in 2008, the proposed legislation drew the opposition of some pro-choice groups who saw the bill as an attempt to erode the rights of pregnant women. In fact, a coalition of women's rights activists said the bill demonstrated the Conservative government's "clear anti-abortion hidden agenda."

Windsor West NDP MP Brian Masse has not been a supporter of Bill C-484, saying it had legal issues that don't make it a "viable" option. But after Friday's meeting with Durham, he said he's open to making a revised bill work.

Durham has submitted petitions to the federal government with more than 15,000 signatures showing support for his campaign.