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Henry Morgentaler Receives Order of Canada Medal

By John Jalsevac
 
October 10, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In spite of the outcry of thousands of Canadians, the Governor General presented Henry Morgentaler, Canada's "father of abortion," with the official Order of Canada snowflake medal this morning in a ceremony at the Citadel of Quebec in Quebec City. He was scheduled to receive the award along with 20 other recipients.

A statement released by Rideau Hall, the office of the Governor General, on Thursday commended Morgentaler for increasing "health care options for Canadian women," and for "influencing public policy nationwide."

No mention was made of abortion in the release, despite the fact that Morgentaler has devoted nearly his entire career to promoting and performing abortions. He has boasted of personally killing more than 100,000 unborn children, and is responsible for the deaths of millions more. Because of Morgentaler's pro-abortion activism, Canada currently has one of the most extreme abortion regimes in the world, in which a woman can have her unborn child killed up to birth at taxpayer expense for any reason.

"(Morgentaler) has been a catalyst for change and important debate," said the release. "He has heightened awareness of women's reproductive health issues among medical professionals and the Canadian public."

"I'm honoured to receive the Order of Canada today," Morgentaler said, reading from a statement following the ceremony.

"Canada's one of the few places in the world where freedom of speech and choice prevail in a truly democratic fashion."

A small group of pro-life protesters was able to organize a rally at the Citadel on the short notice.

"We have been too quiet and I think it's time to step out in a bigger way," Peter Ryan, a former Campaign Life Coalition New Brunswick (CLCNB) president, told reporters. Ryan was part of a group of six New Brunswickers who travelled to Quebec City to protest at the ceremony.

"Our country is throwing away hundreds of thousands of children while we are struggling with a low birth rate," he added.

Pro-life leaders across the country responded to the awarding of the Order with outrage.

Patrick Hanlon, President of the Right to Life Association, said, "Morgentaler receiving this award … should be seen as a great sign of disrespect to the non-controversial nature of the Order of Canada, to the women and children hurting and dying from abortion, and to the majority of Canadians who disagree with this notorious abortionist."

Jim Hughes, National President of Campaign Life Coalition, stated, "We are strongly opposed to a man who is a professional killer of unborn children in their mothers' wombs being rewarded with the Order of Canada."

On July 1st of this year, the Governor General announced that Morgentaler had been named to the Order of Canada, sparking a nationwide protest.
 
Soon after the July 1st announcement, Campaign Life Coalition commissioned a survey of over 150,000 Canadian household. They were asked the following question: Do you believe abortionist Henry Morgentaler should receive the Order of Canada? Amongst the 13,000 respondents, more than 56% were opposed to Morgentaler receiving the award. Additionally, more than 100 Members of Parliament spoke out publicly against Morgentaler's nomination, while many past recipients of the Order of Canada returned their award, stating that it had lost its value because of the nomination of Henry Morgentaler. 

See all of the LifeSiteNews reports on the Morgentaler 'Disorder' of Canada:
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008_docs/Morgentalerorder.html

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