Dr. Henry Morgentaler, Order of Canada

On July 1st, Canada Day by the way, Dr. Henry Morgentaler was inducted into the Order of Canada! Cause for celebration? Yep! Except for those that dislike freedom and choice and women controlling their own bodies.

See his induction cheapens Wayne Gretkzy's Dad's order, apparently. Read on!

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said Tuesday he supports the decision to award abortion crusader Dr. Henry Morgentaler with the Order of Canada.

Dr. Henry Morgentaler was named a member of the Order of Canada on July 1.

McGuinty, himself a Catholic, appears to be the first premier to address the issue publicly. His stance opposes that of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who has said he would have preferred to have seen the award bestowed on someone who unifies Canadians.

Fighting for freedom and personal liberties has never been a very Canadian thing, you see.

"I know that Dr. Morgentaler's been seen as a controversial figure, but I believe in a woman's right to make a very difficult decision," McGuinty said.

Yay McGuinty!

"And if she makes that difficult decision and chooses to have an abortion, I want her to be able to do that in a way that's safe, in a way that's publicly funded. So I know it's divisive, but I think it's important."

You rock, man! I'm going to move to Canada and become a citizen there just so I can start voting for you.

Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean named Morgentaler as a member of the order on July 1 for his services to women and for leadership in the fields of humanism and civil liberties. The controversial appointment was made on the advice of the independent Order of Canada selection committee.

McGuinty's comments came the same day an Ontario Catholic organization returned an Order of Canada medal to the Governor General to protest the decision to give Morgentaler the honour.

sigh

No good deed goes unpunished.


Order 'devalued'

Members of the Madonna House took the medal, along with a letter of explanation, to Rideau Hall, the Governor General's official residence in Ottawa.

The medal had been awarded to the organization's late founder in 1976.

"It is only after much prayer and consultation with our community, as well as with heavy hearts, that we are undertaking this action," Rev. David May, one of the Madonna House directors, said in a news release.

So they took a long, long time to decide specifically to behave like petulant children. Got it!

Catherine Doherty, who died at the age of 89 in 1985, was named a member the Order of Canada for "a lifetime of devoted services to the underprivileged of many nationalities, both in Canada and abroad," according to the Governor General's website.

Sounds really good!

She and her husband started Madonna House in 1947 in Combermere, about 180 kilometres west of Ottawa. The organization now counts 200 members and operates soup kitchens and retreats in seven countries around the world. All involved have taken vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.

May said he believes Doherty would support the organization's decision to return her award.

He prayed to her today and the table lamp bumped just like it used to when she was alive! QED!

"The order has been devalued in recent days, and we are confident that Catherine is spiritually present with us, affirming this gesture of love for our country and for the values which alone can sustain it. Without absolute respect for the gift of life, no society can survive," he said.

Isn't that great, flowery language for forcing a woman to suffer through a pregnancy and bare a child that she doesn't want?

Madonna House's decision to return the award came five days after Rev. Lucien Larré, a B.C. priest, returned his Order of Canada medal to protest Morgentaler's appointment.

And the beat goes on.

Morgentaler fought to legalize abortion

Morgentaler, a Polish Holocaust survivor who immigrated to Montreal after the Second World War, struggled for decades to have abortion legalized in Canada.

Sounds like a scumbag, doesn't he? He really devalues the Order of Canada!

He opened his first illegal abortion clinic in Montreal in 1969 and performed thousands of procedures.

A family physician, Morgentaler argued that access to abortion was a basic human right and women should not have to risk death at the hands of an untrained professional in order to end their pregnancies.

The brute! Giving young women proper medical care?!? Yep, that has devalue written all over it!

His abortion clinics were constantly raided, and one in Toronto was firebombed.

I'm always amazed that anyone can justify murdering someone who has been born as a reasonable response to making safe abortions available. I'm just saying.

Morgentaler was arrested several times and spent months in jail as he fought his case at all court levels in Canada.

On Jan. 28, 1988, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down Canada's abortion law. That law, which required a woman who wanted an abortion to appeal to a three-doctor hospital abortion committee, was declared unconstitutional.

Canada now has no federal laws governing abortion, and leaves regulation of the procedure up to individual provinces.

So the man who put his life on the line, risked being murdered, firebombed, and raided, went toe to toe with the federal government, spent time in jail because of it, and in the end won for the rights of freedom and privacy everywhere is given the highest honor Canada can bestow. Bravo!

Anyone who thinks that this man devalues anything needs a remedial course in the Inigo Montoya School for Terminally Dictatorially Clueless.

Congratulations, Dr. Morgentaler!