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On July 1, Canada Day, Governor-General Michaëlle Jean's list of inductees to the Order of Canada was announced. It's usually a pretty ho-hum affair which "recognizes a lifetime of outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation" and really not that exciting unless you actually know someone who is receiving it. This announcement was anything but boring. On the list was one name that caused Canadians to lose their collective minds - Henry Morgentaler. Words that come to mind when people say that name range from life-saver, to murderer, to abortionist. Some Canadians are cheering his induction. Others are returning their own Order of Canada medals in protest. No matter what your view is one thing is certain - the abortion debate in Canada is being thrown open again.
For those of you unfamiliar with Canada's stance on abortion here it is - legally speaking we don't have one. Canada does not have any legal restrictions on abortion. We used to and throughout the history of the abortion debate in the past 40 years you will find Dr. Henry Morgentaler. In 1969 Pierre Trudeau drafted a provision of Section 287 of the Canadian Criminal Code which allowed for abortion (previously completely illegal) to be allowed if doctors said it was necessary for the woman's health. Dr. Morgentaler had testified before a government committee in 1967 saying that women should have the right to a safe abortion. It was not a widely popular view. In 1969 Morgentaler gave up his family practice and began performing illegal abortions. He opened abortion clinics. Arrests and court cases followed over the next decades, the most significant for this discussion is the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) case R. v. MORGENTALER, 1988 decision. The SCC declared that the existing law was unconstitutional because it violated a woman's right to "security of the person" under Section 7 of Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Since that day there has not been a law that regulates abortion in Canada.
I'm obviously doing some serious summarizing here. The SCC R. v. MORGENTALER, 1988 decision alone is about 150 pages. If you want more details in a less abbreviated format you can check out the Wikipedia articles on Abortion in Canada, Henry Morgentaler, and R v Morgantaler 1988 or the CBC Abortion Rights Backgrounder for more details.
Politicians in Canada don't want to touch the abortion debate. They want to bury it under a rock and never hear about it again. It's troubling for politicians because polls since 2000 have suggested that the majority of Canadians polled are in support of some level of access to legal abortions but we're really mixed up about our views on it. In 2001 Léger Marketing polled Canadians and released "The Opinions of Canadians on Abortions 2001 (note: links to a PDF). It showed that 46.6% of those polled were for abortion, 37.6% were against and 15.8% don't know or refused to answer. But 54.5% of those polled believe that the decision should rest solely with women and 51.8% believe that the fetus is a human being at conception. A 2005 Gallup Poll found that 52% of Canadians polled want the laws surrounding abortion to stay as they are.
Canadian politicians may not have a choice this but to discuss it this summer. Since the July 1 announcement the abortion debate is heating up. Several MPs have publicly stated that they are against the decision to award Morgentaler the Order of Canada. Saskatoon-Humbolt MP Brad Trost says that the Order of Canada awards should be unifying, not divisive. Saint John's East MP Norm Doyle agrees with Trost and further says that Morgentaler's award should be rescinded. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty came out in support of Morgentaler's award while saying that he knows the issue of abortion is divisive in Canada.
Groups and individuals who oppose Morgentaler being given the award have started to protest by returning theirs. The Madonna House, a Catholic organization, returned the Order medal of their organization's founder. Former NB Lieutenant-Governor Gilbert Finn is returning his as well. And yet the Toronto Star is reporting that three in five Canadians support the award. You see what I mean when I said Canadians are conflicted?
Media, polls, politicians...they are all telling us what Canadians are supposedly thinking. But there's really only one to see what Canadians really are thinking - by reading their blogs.
Cheryl at Observations of a News
