I just wanted to post a comic. I didn’t intend to talk about The Order of Canada, but too many people have asked my opinion for me to keep totally silent. As always, however, I will at least try to keep it short.
For those uninformed, the current Canadian controversy involves Dr. Henry Morgentaler, a pioneer for abortion’s legalization in Canada, who recently received a fairly prestigious award called The Order of Canada. The Order is supposed to go to people who have made a significant and positive difference in the lives of Canadians.
For obvious reasons, many people are dubious, to say the least, of Morgentaler’s deserving this award. For his part, Morgentaler feels that he’s finally being recognized for his years of work on women’s behalves. You can read about the whole thing here, if you’re so inclined.
So much for the background. Here’s my two cents.
I won’t bother going into the mechanics of the matter since it’s been done, to death, by many others. I do have a few impressions I’d like to point out, though.
1. According to Morgentaler, 80% of Canadians support legalized abortion, which means that 80% support his receiving the Order of Canada. He didn’t say so in so many words; it was more along the lines of the award not being as controversial as we think because of the above statistic.
BUT… as any university undergrad taking philosophy could tell you, just because all A are B and 80% of C are B, it doesn’t mean that all A are C. In other words, just because someone doesn’t think abortion should be illegal doesn’t mean they support him in this award. I’m pro life. That’s not a secret. At the same time, I don’t think making abortion illegal is going to solve any problems, because of a variety of things: the way our society is, the history of women and abortion, etc. I don’t support making abortion illegal, but I certainly don’t support the practice, and I in no way think an abortion rights’ activist is deserving of a prestigious award.
2. For the rest, I’ll let Morgentaler dig his own grave:
He said he is surprised the negative reaction to his honour from religious groups “is not more violent that it already is… The negative opinions all come from the usual suspects: the Catholic Church, fundamentalists, women opposed to women’s rights.”
Very tolerant attitude there, Doctor. As a practicing Catholic, I find it very annoying to be grouped in with what you call “fundamentalists” and “women opposed to women’s rights.” Don’t you love that one, by the way? Because I feel an unborn child has rights equal to that of a living woman, I’m now a woman opposed to women’s rights. Maybe I should get a bumper sticker.
Morgentaler said Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who distanced himself from the appointment by pointing out his government has no role in such decisions, “represents a reactionary party, a party which harbours many anti-choice members, some of them quite prominent, and I think it is to his credit that he has silenced them.”
Now, THIS one makes me mad. Seriously. I hate it when people use the term “anti-choice” to describe people who are “pro-life.” Unless I’m allowed to use the terms “pro-death” or “anti life” to describe someone who’s pro-choice, I don’t feel like I should be disrespected because my beliefs happen to diverge from theirs.
Women are no longer killed, injured or left infertile because of abortions, he said, and violent crime has become much rarer due to a decline in unwanted pregnancies.
“There are people out there who would otherwise have been murdered. That makes me very happy indeed,” he said.
Part A is probably true. But I really don’t know that you can statistically demonstrate a decline in violent crime that’s directly proportionate to the amount of abortions. I would very much like to see the decisive scientific evidence on that.
Anyway. This is already longer than I meant it to be, and I’m sure someone somewhere will get mad and fire me off a nasty email. Bring it. I’ve always tried to be respectful of others, whether they agree with me or not. If you want to vent your ignorance for the world, I’ll be happy to feature it on my blog.
