MORGENTALER AND THE ORDER OF CANADA: 

CANADA HAS NOT CONCEDED THAT THE DEBATE OVER ABORTION HAS ENDED

by Chris Wright
The Calgary Herald, July 2 2008

There appears to be a minority group in Canada intent upon convincing the rest of the nation that the issue of abortion has already been settled and that it has been universally accepted and approved. The questionable actions of the Supreme Court Justices seeking to award Dr. Henry Morgentaler the Order of Canada is yet another example of this. Those members of the committee involved are blatantly ignoring the expressed desire of the larger part of Canadians.

The fact that the vast majority of Canadians do not support this awarding of the Order of Canada to Morgentaler is irrefutable. A Globe & Mail national poll conducted in the spring of this year clearly revealed that the consensus of Canadians is far from unanimous affirmation, in fact, 92% of the over 330,000 Canadians surveyed did not believe that Dr. Morgentaler should be awarded the Order of Canada.

One is similarly reminded of the move of the student governments of institutions such as York University who have presumptuously declared that the debate over abortion has ended in Canada, and as such, are preventing open and intelligent discussion over the issue, in effect, disrupting free speech. Despite the actions of that student government, and despite the agenda of the few judges, the people of Canada have not agreed that these individuals' opinions represent those of the entire nation.

As is easily discerned by the results of the national poll, Canada has not conceded that the debate over abortion has ended. Currently there are some who seek to honour a man who most Canadians in no way consider a hero in our nation, nor someone who has contributed a lifetime of outstanding achievement in service to Canada or to humanity at large.

We who are Canadians believe that the actions of the leaders of our country should reflect the beliefs of its citizens, and Canada has clearly not agreed as a nation that abortion is right or admirable, nor that an abortion doctor should be so honoured.