Olivia Marie Talbot and her unborn son Lane Jr. were murdered on November 23, 2005. Their killer was not charged in the death of Lane Jr. even though it was his self-proclaimed intention to, “Stop the baby from being born.”
In Canada it is not a crime to harm or kill an unborn baby in an act of violence against the mother.
Mary Talbot, mother of Olivia and grandmother to Lane Jr., has been a staunch advocate for a law that would reflect the reality of such a tragedy and hold perpetrators accountable for the true impact of their crimes.
Talbot fought for “The Unborn Victims of Crime Act” or Bill C-484. Although it had the approval of the majority of the government at the time, it was thrown away when an election was called.
Opposition of such a law came primarily from the spokesperson for the ARRC, Joyce Arthur, stating, “If the fetuses are recognized in this bill, it could bleed into people’s consciousness and make people change their minds about abortion.”
The fact that without such a law there is a legal inability to recognize a woman’s choice in such circumstances does not seem to bother Arthur – then or now.
Talbot has since been given the Diamond Jubilee Medal by Canada for her, “battle for justice for pregnant women who are at higher risk for harm,”
Yet ten years later, Canada has yet to implement any such law.
In just over a decade, at age 46, the man who murdered her two family members but only got charged for one, will be eligible for parole.
Mrs. Talbot deserves much more than a medal.
An excerpt of Mary Talbot’s Victim Impact Statement
“Emotionally this heinous crime has destroyed me. I have been set adrift in a sea of agony. My very heart has lost an integral piece. Olivia is my baby girl. I have loved and love her beyond the meaning of any words. I had also fallen in love with her baby boy whom she was elated to be carrying and had already named Lane. She was due to carry him till Valentines Day 2006. I had already grown attached to this unborn cherub who never had the chance to reach this world. Having other grandsons I know what it is to love and feel the joy of grand children.
I still weep every day. How can ones emotions ever be anything other than a horribly mixed cocktail after hearing the facts of this senseless deed such that was brought upon my daughter and my grandson? Today the emotions inside me have there own life. I am never too sure when despair, fear, loneliness, anger or the like will cripple me.
I have learned to treasure the nineteen years that I was able to have Olivia. She was of course an enormous part of my life.
The ripple effect from this brutal and unconscionable crime reaches beyond myself, or my husband, beyond Olivia’s immediate family, beyond any of those who knew this beautiful, young, talented women. It has caused irreparable ramifications that have seeped into our society.
Grief doesn’t end when you lose a child.” – Mary Talbot
