Order of Canada Awards Returned in Protest of Abortion Advocate

Canada's Governor General, Michaëlle Jean, has officially accepted the resignations of three members of the Order of Canada, in protest of the Order being awarded to abortion advocate, Henry Morgentaler.

Morgentaler, an 86-year old Holocaust survivor, has been a divisive and controversial character in Canada, since he was arrested in Montreal in 1970 for performing illegal abortions. In and out of courts and prisons for years and after being charged for conducting illegal abortions in the province of Ontario, in 1988 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Morgentaler had been convicted under a law that was in violation of Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Since that ruling there have been effectively no laws against abortion in Canada. Morgentaler is no stranger to controversy. He has been the target of a number of death threats. Further, this does not mark the first time that an award given to him has been contentious. In 2005, the University of Western Ontario awarded Morgentaler with an Honorary Doctorate of Law. The decision was followed by a number of protests and a petition, signed by 12,000 students asking the school to reverse its decision. Some 10,000 students supporting Morgentaler receiving the honour, signed a petition and the decision was not overruled. In the summer of 2008, Morgentaler was awarded the Order of Canada, "[for] his commitment to increased health care options for women, his determined efforts to influence Canadian public policy and his leadership in humanist and civil liberties organizations." Morgentaler's award has apparently hit a negative cord particularly with Roman Catholic Quebecois, as all three who resigned their awards were of that background. Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte, who resigned his Order, recently said that he "decided to take a stance that clearly reflects my convictions." The Globe and Mail reported that Morgentaler and for those who support him and his work this comes as not surprise. They anticipated many awards being returned after he received the Order of Canada.