Morgentaler's appointment polarizes community

Cornwall Standard Freeholder

05 July 2008

Posted By MICHAEL PEELING, STANDARD-FREEHOLDER

The announcement Dr. Henry Morgentaler would be honoured with membership in the Order of Canada was met with a mix of sadness, disappointment and hope for the future of women's health care in Cornwall, while some applauded a British Columbia priest's decision to return the same honour in protest of Morgentaler's recognition.

Morgentaler, a Montreal family doctor who opened the first abortion clinic -- illegally -- in Canada of 1969, has spent decades advocating the idea that access to abortion services by a trained professional is a basic human right. His clinics were raided numerous times and one was firebombed.

Morgentaler was arrested several times and spent 10 months in jail while courts at all levels dealt with his case.

Almost 20 years later in 1988, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down and declared the abortion law requiring women who wanted an abortion to go before a three-doctor hospital committee unconstitutional.

According to Governor General Michaelle Jean's website, Morgentaler will receive the Order of Canada "for his 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."

Archdiocese of Alexandria- Cornwall Bishop Paul-Andre Durocher said he was saddened by the news someone whose actions led to the deaths of thousands of unborn children, a status bestowed upon a fetus from the moment of conception by the Roman Catholic church, would be added to the Order of Canada.

"The Order of Canada should go to someone who the people of Canada unanimously admire," Durocher said. "There are so many Canadians who believe abortion is the same as taking a life."

Durocher said women seeking an abortion should be given support and counselling in dealing with their pregnancy, not the "easy way out" of terminating the fetus.

The bishop had not heard about Rev. Lucien Larre of the Archdiocese of Vancouver returning the Order of Canada membership he received in 1983. Larre was named to the Order for helping troubled teenagers in the Regina-based Bosco Homes he opened in 1970. Durocher said he could understand why Larre declined to keep the title.

Carson Chisholm, a former federal candidate for the Christian Heritage Party and member of Pro-Life Cornwall took an even harder line on the Morgentaler announcement.

"They're trying to make (Morgentaler) out to be a humanitarian, but he's not," Chisholm said. "He's a mass murderer."

Chisholm said Morgentaler's addition to the Order of Canada membership debases the honour, making it a worthless gesture in his eyes.

Human rights activist Lori Taylor, who ran for the NDP provincially in the Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry riding, said honouring Morgentaler brings issues of women's health back to the forefront.

"I'm happy to see Morgentaler recognized for his work in women's medical and reproductive health," Taylor said. "Too often these issues get overlooked, but this highlights the issues. As discussion of abortion gets driven underground, women lose access to information about the choices they have."

Taylor said Larre's choice to return his Order of Canada membership is fair as a "form of protest."

"I don't think it lessens the value of the Order," she said. (With CP files)