THE ABORTION DEBATE AND HENRY MORGENTALER

Henry Morgentaler was one of the most controversial figures in Canadian society. However view other fundamental shifts in our thinking can be chalked up largely to one man either unless we are discussing Henry Morgentaler. Since he died recently I feel it can only be appropriate to talk about him and the social change he was able to engineer.

Through the sexual revolution of the 1960s and the increases in women's rights the abortion debate begins to surface, which is reflected in the relaxing of contraceptive and abortion laws in Canada. However the ball never really had much spin until Dr. Henry Morgentaler began opening what were at the time illegal abortion clinics in Toronto and Montreal. He began to rally for women's rights and was arrested and brought to trial multiple times for preforming abortions. Although what he was doing at the time was illegal under law he always selected trial by jury every time he went to court and he was so convincing and logical with his arguments and his demonstrations and explanations of how it was safer to preform abortions in a clinic with real doctors as opposed to women throwing themselves downstairs or using coat hangers that he was found innocent every time. His sentences were appealed several times and the minister of justice even ordered a retrial but to no avail. However when Morgentaler was so bold as to record himself preforming an abortion and airing it on national television his clinics were raided and this time his trial went all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.

However the difference this time was that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms had been made into law and his strong arguments convinced the Supreme Court to make preforming abortions legal in Canada. While abortion does remain a controversial topic in Canada and opposition to the Supreme Court ruling can still be seen even in the house of commons with some government MP's proposing criminalizing abortion the astonishing part of this story was Henry Morgentaler's ability to affect social change and alter Canadian history through determination and spirit and fighting for what he believed to be right and just.