Toronto, Canada, Jul 3, 2008 / 15:49 pm
The awarding of the Order of Canada to Dr. Hans Morgentaler, an abortionist who helped overturn anti-abortion laws in Canada, has prompted a past honoree to return the decoration amid calls for Morgentaler’s award to be revoked. The Catholic bishops of Canada have also added their voice to the fray, saying the selection of Morgentaler “discredits the Order of Canada” by decorating a man who has “attacked the most vulnerable, the unborn.”
The 85-year-old Morgentaler, who is sometimes referred to as “Canada's Father of Abortion” and “Canada’s Father of Secular Humanism,” is credited by some with leading the charge to legalize abortion under all circumstances in Canada. He began his efforts by opening an illegal abortion clinic in Montreal in 1969.
In 1988 the Canadian Supreme Court issued a ruling, which bore Dr. Morgentaler’s name, striking down abortion-restricting provisions in the criminal code, ruling they violated a woman’s constitutional right to “security of person.”
On Tuesday the Canadian Governor-General’s office confirmed Morgentaler has been named as a member of the order and will receive his insignia at a ceremony at a later date.