Dr. Henry Morgentaler inducted into the Order of Canada
Holy hot damn. Old news for the rest of the (CBC-reading) public, I realize, but I've been under a rock this week. A snippet of info from the CBC for those who aren't familiar with the name:
"Morgentaler, a trained family physician, argued that access to abortion was a basic human right and women should not have to risk death at the hands of an untrained professional in order to end their pregnancies.
"His victory came on Jan. 28, 1988, when the Supreme Court of Canada struck down Canada’s abortion law. That law, which required a woman who wanted an abortion to appeal to a three-doctor hospital abortion committee, was declared unconstitutional."
(Related link: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2008/07/01/m...)
A line from his bio I want to remember for later:
To be sure, many critics say his legacy is not one to be celebrated. But Morgentaler makes no apologies, calling them misguided. He rejects their view that an embryo is a baby; that ending a pregnancy is ending a life. A blueprint is not a building, he says, an egg is not a chicken.