Ignoring the child-abusing-priest who doesn't want his OC anymore, what really got me was this story from CBC in which a "Family Values Group" states that it is dedicated to "restoring Judeo-Christian moral principles in the country". Mmmm - Talibantastic! I do have a few questions for this group though: Which Judeo-Christian moral principles? The ones about killing your first born son? Not planting two types of crops in the same field (that won't go over well in the prairie provinces)? Slavery? Prohibiting the eating of shellfish (I'm moving to Halifax soon, so if they could get back to me on that last one soon, I'd appreciate it)? If members of these groups don't like abortions, the answer is simple: Don't get one.
As for Dr. Morgentaler: Here we have an Auschwitz survivor who struggled against an unjust law, who persevered in the face of threats and firebombings, and was ultimately successful in securing the right of women to make decisions over their own bodies. Yup, sounds good to me.
"The right to liberty... guarantees a degree of personal autonomy over important decisions intimately affecting his or her private life. ... The decision whether or not to terminate a pregnancy is essentially a moral decision and in a free and democratic society, the conscience of the individual must be paramount to that of the state."
Morgentaler et. al. v. Her Majesty The Queen
9 comments:
good post.
I don't often say this, but that was ... awesome.
that actually sucked though well worded.
U forgot to mention or don't know that once abortion was illegal and that changes the argument in favour of those who agreed with the law before some politically motivated "Justices" rearranged the chairs for the 'trudopean'
Ignorance of youth I suppose!
OK: this is a decisive moment. "Trudopean [sic] ignorance of youth" is now my new favourite phrase. I'll use it at every possible opportunity.
just as that reminds me of marijuana use by youngsters does affect the perception of a supposed intellect, use it every day, someday you might be able to cross the street on your own, if you don't stumble over your skirt
But that's... well, that's uncanny. As a matter of fact, I do own a skirt -- that is, a kilt.
How did you know?
Excellent post Dunkler. Hey, I like that term, "Trudopean" -- must find a use for it.
Thank-you for this post. Dr. Morgentaler is a hero and well deserving of the OC and other recognitions.
Just as alcohol prohibition doesn’t work, banning abortions doesn’t work — it just creates more harm (women maimed or killed in botched ‘back-alley’ abortion attempts). I recommend that anti-abortion folks, who really want to prevent abortions, join in working to prevent the circumstances that lead to women having unwanted pregnancies.
The leading factor (statistically) is poverty. So, if you want to reduce rates of abortion, work on reducing poverty for women.
That combined with comprehensive sex education and birth control access (for everyone) could see dramatic reductions in abortion rates.
Just because we have laws on a given issues, doesn't mean they are just. We've seen laws that made homosexuality a crime, ditto with interracial marriages. Dr. Morgentaler identified one such injustice which denied women autonomy over their own bodies, and worked hard to change it - including disobedience. He put his life on the line for his beliefs and was ultimately successful. The illegality of Abortion prior to Dr. Morgentaler's actions is an argument in favour of awarding him the OC, not against it.
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