90
TORONTO — About a dozen of Henry Morgentaler's supporters met in the basement of Toronto's Trinity-St. Paul's United Church in January, 2005, to brainstorm how to get the abortion-rights crusader appointed to the Order of Canada. A sense of optimism filled the room. But those seated around the table were also pragmatic: Two other major public attempts had failed to earn the aging doctor the country's highest civilian honour.
“We felt it was time to do it again. Henry was getting older. We just had a celebration … of the Supreme Court decision. Some of us talked at that celebration,” said Carolyn Egan of the Ontario Coalition for Abortion Clinics, the group that led the meeting.
Dr. Morgentaler attended the celebration of the 1998 court ruling that legalized abortion, “but he wasn't apprised of this,” decision to lobby on his behalf, Ms. Egan said.
“As time had gone on the situation in the country was more and more, we felt, supportive of the pro-choice cause. We felt we really had a very good chance to achieving it this time.”
Related Articles
The group consulted with people familiar with the Order of Canada process, including Canadian actress Shirley Douglas. Two nomination letters were penned the next month, one by bestselling author John Irving and another by oncologist Robert Buckman. Attached to the letters and nomination form was a list of nine people from a broad spectrum of fields, such as journalist and political activist Doris Anderson, whom the Governor-General's office could contact.
Then the wait began.
“We were beginning to wonder. We thought we had a very strong nomination,” Ms. Egan recalled in an interview Friday. “There had been publication of names … and Dr. Morgentaler was not on those lists. We were beginning to be quite disheartened.”
At one point, the group thought of sending another letter. But Ms. Egan said they were told that their nomination was still under consideration and they could just bolster it by keeping the Governor- General's office apprised of Dr. Morgentaler's accomplishments.
The University of Western Ontario awarded the doctor his first honorary degree in June of 2005 despite protests. And he later received the 2005 Couchiching Award for Public Policy Leadership.
“We continued to just essentially show through a range of activities the broad support and respect that varying sectors of society had for Dr. Morgentaler and hoped that this would have an influence,” Ms. Egan said. “We were given to understand that adding to the portfolio could potentially strengthen the case, in essence.”
Their work paid off this week. Amid Canada Day celebrations, Dr. Morgentaler, 85, was named a member to the Order of Canada.
Anti-abortionists say the honour has been debased and the appointment should be reconsidered, especially because the decision, usually arrived at by consensus, was put to a recorded vote and was opposed by two government members of the advisory committee, Privy Council Clerk Kevin Lynch and deputy heritage minister Judith LaRocque.
Supporters of Dr. Morgentaler argue that the vast majority of Canadians are pro-choice and say it's time the doctor was recognized for his fight to legalize abortion. Dr. Morgentaler told reporters this week that he was surprised the opposition to him receiving the honour wasn't more fierce.
Ms. Egan said she believes the other accolades over the past couple of years helped seal the Order of Canada appointment. (The two other major attempts to get him appointed were in the early 1990s when members of the Humanist Association of Canada submitted a nomination, and in 2002, when the Canadian Abortion Rights Action League rallied a number of public figures and submitted a nomination).
“My own sense is that there was a recognition that there is broad support for the pro-choice position in this country and Dr. Morgentaler is held in such high esteem that it would have been very, very hard to ignore his contributions,” Ms. Egan said.
