One of the world's most monstrous men, a Holocaust survivor become abortionist, Henry Morgentaler, has just been awarded the Order of Canada “for his commitment to increased health care options for women, his determined efforts to influence Canadian public policy and his leadership in humanist and civil liberties organizations."Make no mistake, these things matter to God.
"Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!" (Isaiah 5:20 NASB)
There are, of course, several stories dealing with this insidious affair. I cite here only three.
1) The National Post article describes Father Lucien Larrein of British Columbia returning his own Order of Canada out of protest as well as these statements from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops: "Far from improving our country, Mr. Morgentaler's actions continue to create controversy and division in our nation. In the name of freedom of choice, he has encouraged the development of a culture of death and has thus attacked the most vulnerable, the unborn."
2) In an especially interesting reaction, pro-choice journalist Henry Aubin, writing in the Gazette (Montreal), describes his reluctance to even discuss abortion. However...
...On the Morgentaler's membership in the Order of Canada. however, I feel no ambivalence whatever. The membership of the abortion-rights crusader, announced Tuesday, is not only an affront to his pro-life adversaries, it's also offensive to a middle-ground type like myself.
If an organization representing doctors, civil libertarians or humanists were to lionize Morgentaler, fine, I'd have no problem. The organization would be private. It wouldn't be representing me. But the Order of Canada is a symbolic stand-in for you and me and all citizens. It is the vehicle by which the state honours and celebrates what the Order describes as a "lifetime of distinguished service." I have as much trouble paying homage to Morgentaler as I would to his opposite number in the pro-life movement. He's an extremist, the most vocal proponent of one of the most socially radical causes of our time.
In honouring such a proponent, the Order is also plainly honouring the cause itself. It's one thing to tolerate abortion. It's another thing to applaud it...
3) I'll suggest just one more link before leaving off with this disgraceful matter and it's the thoughtful, challenging column written by Stephanie Gray, the executive director of the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform, for the Calgary Herald. The whole piece should be read but here's an excerpt:
To give Henry Morgentaler the Order of Canada is simply to be consistent with what's going on in this country.
Sure, people can point to an online poll by the Globe and Mail that revealed 92 per cent of over 300,000 respondents are against giving him the award.
But the reality is that a majority of Canadians support abortion when the procedure most often occurs, in the first trimester. Further realities are that more than 250 human beings will be killed today, that this is state-sanctioned, and that this is paid for by our tax dollars.
If this is the first time Canadians are feeling shame about celebrating Canada Day, then we have problems.
People should have been reluctant to celebrate Canada Day back in 1969, when abortion first became legal. The problem to which our limited attention should be drawn is not awarding Henry Morgentaler the Order of Canada, but the genocide of a group of people who are being denied their right to life simply because of their age. Their fate is to be dismembered, disemboweled and decapitated.
Morgentaler's award is simply a symptom of a more deeply rooted crisis.
We can look at Morgentaler's award and blame the selecting committee. We can blame the government and its politicians. We can blame others -- because that's easy. But what's difficult is to blame ourselves...
