Woman's Incest Conviction Upheld in Canada

A mother, known as "B.D.", lost her appeal of her conviction on incest and other charges. The case developed after it was discovered that a child who died was the offspring of her and her 21-year-old son, who was also her husband. They have two other children together as well. The other criminal offenses included trying to forge birth certificates.

An autopsy revealed the girl who was brought to Cambridge Memorial Hospital one June morning in 2001 had died of natural causes. However, the glands on top of her kidneys were very thin.

It’s a condition that can result from incestuous conception.

Police grew suspicious and asked Ontario’s Centre of Forensic Sciences to set aside a sample of the girl’s blood for possible DNA testing.

The appeal was based on whether or not the police should have been allowed to do that.

The 21-year-old man who brought the child to hospital had identified himself as her brother.

But the girl’s mother, then 47, claimed he was her husband.

As it turns out, both were right.

Until the laws change, it would be good to avoid self-incrimination.

On Thursday, the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld her convictions for incest in a case Justice Robert Blair described as giving “new meaning to the word bizarre.”

People used to think interracial and same-sex marriage were "bizarre" too. But we've overcome such bigotry.