Crooked in Canada

When it comes to abortion I believe in a woman’s right to choose to have one if she so desires, and with that belief comes the reality that doctors have to perform them, but as far as doctors being given prestigious awards for performing abortions, a procedure we all know means terminating a human life form, I have to draw the line.

If assisted suicide doctor Jack Kevorkian was a Canadian, would the Governor General of Canada bestow upon him the Order of Canada like she did with abortion doctor Henry Morgentaler? I think not.

I don’t know what Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean was thinking when she named Morgentaler as a member of the Order of Canada this past Monday, but if I were to hazard a guess, I’d say it was because she has her head up her ass.

Since when does somebody who has spent time in jail for deliberately going out of their way to break any laws, let alone abortion laws, deserve such an honour, and what does that say about Canadian values?

What was the Gov. Gen. thinking, and why did she feel pressured from the Order of Canada selection committee to honour Morgentaler for an issue that has divided people the world over, never mind Canada, for many, many years?

In my opinion there is no justification for her actions, though she says Morgentaler was honoured for his services to women, and for leadership in the field of humanism and civil liberties. I’m sure there are plenty of other doctors in Canada who have demonstrated same, and of those doctors I bet many of them didn’t deliberately go out of their way to break the law. What makes Morgentaler better than them?

The Dirt on Morgentaler:

1970-Morgentaler is arrested in Montreal for performing illegal abortions.

1973-Morgentaler claimed to have performed 5,000 illegal abortions. He was acquitted, but the acquittal was overturned on appeal and served 10 months in jail before he was acquitted on yet another appeal.

1973-Morgentaler’s claim that he performed thousands of abortions attracts the attention of the Quebec Ministry of Revenue and he is ordered to pay $354,799.00 in unpaid income taxes. An out-of-court settlement resulted in Morgentaler paying $101,000.00 instead.

1976-His medical license is suspended for a year as a result of his conviction of having performed an illegal abortion. The committee that suspended his license claimed that the only reason he was taking on the abortion issue was for financial gain, in other words he was protecting the cash flow performing illegal abortions provided him with.

1983-He is charged with procuring illegal miscarriages. He is acquitted but the verdict is reversed by the Ontario court of appeal, after which the Supreme Court of Canada acquitted him because in their eyes at the time his conviction was in violation of the Charter of Rights and therefore unconstitutional.

And another thing, what about a Canadian doctor’s Hippocratic oath, oh yeah that’s right, it is no longer enforced in Canada because of the abortion debate and now doctors can end a life pretty much as they see fit. I wonder if the Hippocratic oath was still in play to this day if the Gov. Gen. would have named Morgentaler to the Order of Canada.

The Hippocratic Oath (recognized by the Canadian Medical Association when Morgentaler began performing illegal abortions back in the 60s):

I SWEAR by Apollo the physician and Aesculapius, and Hygiea, and Panacea, and all the gods and goddesses, that, according to my ability and judgment, I will keep this Oath and this stipulation.

To consider him who taught me this Art as dear to me as my parent, to share my substance with him, and to relieve his necessities if required; to look upon his offspring as equivalent to my own brothers, and to teach them this Art, if they wish to learn it, without fee or stipulation.

And that by precept, lecture, and every other form of instruction, I will impart a knowledge of the Art to my own sons, and those of my teachers, and to disciples bound by a stipulation and oath according to the law of medicine, but to none others.

I will follow that system of regimen which, according to my ability and judgment, I consider for the benefit of my patients and abstain from whatever is harmful and mischievous.

I will give no deadly medicine to anyone if asked, nor suggest any such advice; likewise, I will not give a pessary to a woman to induce abortion.

I will live my life and practice my art with purity and holiness.

I will not cut persons suffering from ‘the stone’, but will leave this to be done by men who are practitioners of this skill.

Whatever houses I enter, I will enter for the benefit of the sick, and will abstain from every voluntary act of mischief and corruption, and especially from the seduction of females or males, of free persons or slaves.

Whatever I see or hear in connection with my professional practice or not in the life of men, which should not be made public, I will not divulge, considering that all such knowledge should remain secret.

As long as I continue to keep this Oath inviolate, may it be granted to me to enjoy life and the practice of the Art, respected by all men, at all times. But if I should trespass and violate this Oath, may the opposite be my lot.

Obviously, and before Morgentaler’s illegal abortion practices came to light, he failed to abide by the oath he swore out, and at the end of the day he should have be suspended from practising medicine permanently. And to think that the Gov. Gen. feels he’s worthy enough to be named to the Order of Canada. Get real!

The Order of Canada award, and what it stands for has been tainted forever, and I hope that other recipients of the award do what Rev. Lucien Larre (founder of Bosco Homes) did, and return their Order of Canada in protest, though I think Larre should have returned his after he was convicted of two counts of physically abusing children in his care at Bosco in Saskatchewan nine years of he received his Order of Canada. He has since been pardoned for his crime by the National Parole Board of Canada and has the charges against him erased.

Headline: Henry Morgentaler awarded Order of Canada

Headline: B.C. priest returning Order of Canada over Morgentaler