Dr. Morgantaler, I presume?

Greetings loyal friends and readers.

Happy summer to you all! Well at least to those of you living in the northern hemisphere. To those who do not, I wish a jolly cozy winter!

Enough with the niceties though. I've been thinking a fair amount recently about the appointment of Dr. Henry Morgantaler to the Order of Canada.

As you may expect, I think that this was an appropriate decision. If you know anything about his history, you don't need me to explain why, or if you read the story in the link, you also don't need me to explain why. I will simply state here that Dr. Morgantaler was perhaps the single most important figure in Canada's road to legalizing abortion.

What I've been thinking about though isn't really about what Dr. Morgantaler has done, or why I feel he is so worthy of one of our country's greatest honours. I was thinking about the other members of the Order, a former lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick, Gilbert Finn, a B.C. Priest, and a charity organization whose founder received the award posthumously, the Madonna House, who have either returned their awards or have stated publicly that they are going to because the Order has been 'degraded', 'devalued' and 'tarnished' by Morgantaler's membership.

Why am I focussed on this you ask? Predominantly because Canadians are, in general, polite, and the actions mentioned above are not at all polite. Why were they doing this? What was their motivation? Clearly this was a good opportunity for at least one or two of these people to get another fifteen minutes of fame. I'm torn on how to feel about the Madonna House people's motivation. The award wasn't really theirs. Who are they to give it back? Regardless, it struck me that people have become so entirely self-centred and self-serving that it doesn't seem to matter that they are insulting our country. They have been granted one of the highest distinctions available in our country and they are publicly throwing it back in our faces and spitting on it. Figuratively of course. Who would even do that with a gift you didn't really want? Did no one teach them manners? It's as though they were invited to a party and arrived and found out that someone they don't like was also invited so they make a big fuss about not staying, but they're probably going to take their loot bags with them.

It's one thing for anti-abortion activists to protest in front of Rideau Hall. People are always protesting something (they clearly have known no real hardship in their lives and thus need some excitement) and they will continue to do so until they get what they want (which will never happen). It is a whole other thing for someone who has done good works and has been recognized by the government as such to publicly protest the government's decisions in such a gross and childish manner.

If they felt this strongly about abortion then why did they accept the awards in the first place? Abortion was legalized by the government, not by Dr. Morgantaler. If it's abortion they abhor, they should be protesting at abortion clinics or at the legislative buildings in Ottawa. That's where abortion became legal. Instead, they're simply discriminating against one man who was brave enough to stand up for what he believed in to the point of incarceration, death threats and attempts on his life.

As far as I'm concerned the abortion issue is closed. Any person should have the right to self-determination. That is a basic human right in Canada. Abortion became legal in 1988. Twenty years ago it was decided that a woman should not have to ask a committee for permission. It took a long time to get to that point. Dr. Morgantaler was instrumental in that process. He was a key figure and a leader in his field. He deserves the Order of Canada just as much as Wayne Gretzky.

Thanks for stopping by!

Drive safe peeps,