MORGENTALER AND THE ORDER OF CANADA:
MORGENTALER HASN'T BETTERED CANADA
Robin-Lee Pereda
Guelph Mercury, July 04, 2008
Of the many reasons Dr. Henry Morgentaler should not be appointed to the Order of Canada, none seems to jump out at me more clearly than the order's own motto: desiderantes meliorem patriam, meaning "they desire a better country." The millions a year his clinics bring in tells me he desires a little more than a "better country," and that's just the beginning.
Morgentaler performed abortions illegally from 1969 to 1988. He was charged on two separate occasions, and was convicted on one after the Quebec Court of Appeal overturned a jury acquittal. He served 10 months while waiting for the appeal of that conviction. My concern is this: what message are we sending to future generations if we honour someone who had such blatant disregard for our nation's laws?
Our laws and judicial system have served to protect its citizen and serve them since this great nation's inception. And now the same nation that laid charges against Morgentaler for disregarding their laws now seeks to honour him.
How does that even begin to make sense?
Not to mention it seems hypocritical for the Order to honour someone with such legal indiscretions seeing that one member -- Alan Eagleson -- was removed in 1998 after being jailed for fraud.
Regardless of which side of the abortion debate you sit on, you should be able to plainly see that we as a nation do not agree on this appointment to the Order of Canada.
Isn't the whole point of the Order of Canada to honour those who have made a prodigious contribution to Canada? Shouldn't it reflect our heartfelt thanks and gratitude as a whole nation, not just a fraction of it?
To honour Morgentaler in this way is to intentionally disregard the opinions of a large percentage of the nation.
-- Robin-Lee Pereda, Guelph
copywright 2008
Guelph Mercury, July 04, 2008
Of the many reasons Dr. Henry Morgentaler should not be appointed to the Order of Canada, none seems to jump out at me more clearly than the order's own motto: desiderantes meliorem patriam, meaning "they desire a better country." The millions a year his clinics bring in tells me he desires a little more than a "better country," and that's just the beginning.
Morgentaler performed abortions illegally from 1969 to 1988. He was charged on two separate occasions, and was convicted on one after the Quebec Court of Appeal overturned a jury acquittal. He served 10 months while waiting for the appeal of that conviction. My concern is this: what message are we sending to future generations if we honour someone who had such blatant disregard for our nation's laws?
Our laws and judicial system have served to protect its citizen and serve them since this great nation's inception. And now the same nation that laid charges against Morgentaler for disregarding their laws now seeks to honour him.
How does that even begin to make sense?
Not to mention it seems hypocritical for the Order to honour someone with such legal indiscretions seeing that one member -- Alan Eagleson -- was removed in 1998 after being jailed for fraud.
Regardless of which side of the abortion debate you sit on, you should be able to plainly see that we as a nation do not agree on this appointment to the Order of Canada.
Isn't the whole point of the Order of Canada to honour those who have made a prodigious contribution to Canada? Shouldn't it reflect our heartfelt thanks and gratitude as a whole nation, not just a fraction of it?
To honour Morgentaler in this way is to intentionally disregard the opinions of a large percentage of the nation.
-- Robin-Lee Pereda, Guelph
copywright 2008
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