Henry Morgentaler was named to the Order of Canada this past week. The office of Governor General Ms. Michaelle Jean justified the award based on Morgentaler’s “commitment to increased health care options for women, his determined efforts to influence Canadian public policy and his leadership in humanist and civil liberties organizations.”
What Morgentaler is, is an abortionist. He is credited with single-handedly pushing abortion rights into the national arena by his opening of an abortion clinic in Montreal in 1969. He has spent time in prison, endured legal difficulties, and always maintained active in the abortion rights campaign. He received a vindication of sorts when, in January or 1988, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the anti-abortion provisions in the Criminal Code.
Rhetoric about choice, privacy, bodily rights, or back-alley abortions all do not alter the scientific reality that human life is contained within the womb of the pregnant mother.
I agree with those who have suggested that in this instance the committee (which oversees the process of nominating candidates, and then sends the names on to the Ms. Jean for assent) has exploited the award to validate their own ideological bent rather than promoting a Canadian who is respected and admired by the majority of Canadians, and I would strongly recommend you let Ms. Jean know of your own displeasure.
Kelly Wilson
