The Morgentaler acquittal of Thursday, November 8, 1984, had its reverberations on the “hill.” Right-to-abortion supporters were quick to move, even though the Minister of Justice (Hon. John Crosbie, St. John’s West) had stated already that he did not foresee any changes because “there is no social consensus.” (Toronto Star, Nov. 9). The following statements are taken from Hansard.
Addressing herself to the alleged ineffectiveness of the 1969 abortion legislation, Mrs. Lucie Pepin, former president of Planned Parenthood Canada and former president of the Advisory Council on the Status of Women, spoke as follows on Tuesday, November 13:
Mrs. Lucie Pepin
“Last Thursday, in commenting on the acquittal of Dr. Morgentaler, the Minister of Justice (Mr. Crosbie) indicated that he did not intend to support an amendment to the legislation on abortion.
The 1969 legislation on termination of pregnancy is outdated. In fact, in most parts of Canada, recognized hospitals have refused to set therapeutic abortion committees as provided by law.
The resulting inequities are obvious. Furthermore, the fourth acquittal of Dr. Morgentaler clearly illustrates the shortcomings of the existing legislation, which should be reviewed as soon as possible in order to change either the way it is implemented or its substance.
My purpose here is not to challenge the validity of our judicial system but to stress the ineffectiveness of certain areas of our legislation which penalizes individuals, in this case women, who require a service that, according to the legislation, should be available, but in practice is not.”
The next day, November 14, Reg Stackhouse, PC member for Scarborough West responded as follows:
Reg Stackhouse (Scarborough)
“Mr. Speaker, Canada does not have an effective law on abortion. It has a law, which permits over 60,000 abortions to be performed each year in hospitals. In addition, it is estimated that there are enough illegal terminations of pregnancies to raise the total to 100,000 abortions a year.
In two provinces, Quebec and Ontario, it has been impossible to persuade a jury to arrive at a guilty verdict. We, therefore, so not have an effective law on abortion. It is imperative that Parliament and other authorities of the law address this intolerable situation. The Canadian people should not have to live and behave in doubt ass to what the law requires. Parliament should not be indifferent to the law of the land being broken with impunity. Leadership is required to develop a national consensus that will support an effective law on abortion.
I am one who believes that human life begins in the womb before birth and should be protected by the law. I am also one who believes that the law can protect only when it has the support of the public. This is clearly a time for Canadians to address the issue of what protection we, as a people, are ready to give the unborn.”
On Monday, November 19, Lawrence O’Neil (PC Cape Breton Highlands-Canso) made his maiden speech as some had done before him and others were to do later. Unlike the others, however, the youngest member of the 33rd. parliament included a specific reference to the need to defend the unborn:
“The people of Cape Breton Highlands-Canso regard the family as a most valued institution. I resist the urging to describe our values as traditional. To some that reference connotes a lack of worldliness. In light of the value we place on family, it should come as no surprise, Mr. Speaker, that the people of Cape Breton Highlands-Canso value the life of unborn children. It is no surprise that my constituents strongly support legislation and programmes that recognize the rights of unborn Canadians. These are values, Mr. Speaker that I share. These are values that I am honoured to express for the people of Cape Breton Highlands-Canso….”
NDP member Margaret Mitchell (Vancouver East), who followed O’Neil almost immediately with a speech devoted mostly to women’s affairs, included the following reference:
“The government should take steps to remove abortion from the Criminal Code. The Morgentaler case has already illustrated once again how obsolete this legislation is. It is certainly long past time, and I think public opinion in Canada supports the fact that women should be allowed to make this decision themselves. It is a very personal decision. It should not be something that we as Parliamentarians or the legal system interfere with.”
The next day, November 20, John Reimer (PC Kitchener), expressed himself as follows:
Mr. John Reimer (Kitchener)
“Mr. Speaker, many people in my riding are very disturbed about the acquittal of Dr. Henry Morgentaler. By telephone and letter, over 800 individuals have contacted both myself and a provincial Member whose riding overlaps mine. On the basis of much scientific, medical, and ethical information, I believe that human life begins with conception and must be protected by the law.
The jury selection process in the trial was very disturbing to many Canadians. If we applied that procedure too this House then many Members would be disqualified from hearing some issues. To some, the acquittal was a victory for lawlessness since Dr. Morgentaler never denied that he broke the law. The role of a jury is to determine innocence of guilt based on the law and the evidence provided during the trial. Surely it is for this House, not a jury to decide what our laws will be.
I respectfully urge the Minister to address the issue of abortion during the term of this, the Thirty-third Parliament. If the study finds that a foetus is a human being, which I am confident it will, then we must protect that defenceless life with all the power and full weight of the law.”
One week later, November 26, a Liberal member from Toronto, Mr. John Nunziata also pleaded for the protection of the unborn. The Toronto Star (Nov. 27) reported that, “Nunziata’s remarks caused his Liberal seat-mate, Lucie Pépin, to wag her finger at him as he argued that abortion is murder.” When the next speaker, NDP Svend Robinson from Vancouver, a frequent spokesman for every woman’s right to kill her baby, attacked the speech of Nunziata and called for repeal of the abortion law, Pépin applauded Robinson.
Mr. John V. Nunziata (York South-Weston)
“Mr. Speaker, the acquittal of Dr. Henry Morgentaler has made a mockery of our jury system and is clear evidence that our abortion laws require immediate review to ensure more protection is given to the unborn. The acquittal is a serious indictment of the integrity of our criminal justice system. How can anyone have confidence in any justice system when a self-confessed criminal gloats over being acquitted after having committed a crime?
Abortion is wrong, Mr. Speaker, Human life is precious. From the moment of conception, life begins, and absolutely no person has the right to take that life under any circumstances. It is uncivilized and indecent for a nation to condone murder in whatever form, and in my view, abortion is murder.
While visiting our country, Pope John Paul II had this to say about abortion:
‘This unspeakable crime against human life which rejects and kills life at its beginning sets the stage for despising, negating and eliminating the life of adults and for attacking the life of society.’
I call on Government, Mr. Speaker, to amend the Criminal Code to afford greater protection for the innocent unborn of our society, and to petition the Province of Ontario to appeal the Morgentaler acquittal immediately. To do otherwise would be to breed disrespect for the rule of law and the sanctity of life.”
Mr. Gordon Taylor (Bow River)
“Mr. Speaker, Canadians are law-abiding people and expect our courts and juries to uphold the law of the land. Yet in Toronto a jury acquitted Dr. Morgentaler, who admitted he broke Canada’s laws and would continue to do so. A father who breaks the law by stealing bread to feed his hungry children is sent to jail, but in this case we have a jury acquitting a man who denied life to unborn babies. The fact that he has broken the law many times should not now make it right and proper. These juries are saying: “Break the law often and it is okay.” If one believes the law is wrong, he has every right to work for a change but, until it is changed, it should be obeyed. Any other philosophy will bring chaos to the country.
Morgentaler’s lawyer appears to justify breaking the law by saying: “… the right to control one’s body is essential …” Right on, Mr. Lawyer, but that control should happen before the act of intercourse, not by killing the child after he or she is conceived. I congratulate the Government of Ontario for appealing this case, and I hope the appeal court makes it abundantly clear that the laws of Canada must be obeyed by all including Dr. Morgentaler.”
Also on Wednesday, December 5, the Quebec members of Beauce, PC Gilles Bernier, drew attention to the contradiction between our attitude towards Ethiopia and that towards the unborn.
Mr. Gilles Bernier (Beauce)
“Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to express the satisfaction of my constituents in the riding of Beauce and that of all Canadians with respect to the positive attitude taken by the Canadian Government in providing aid to Ethiopia.
Our government’s initiative was instrumental in persuading other countries, agencies and thousands of Canadians to make generous contribution.
Mr. Speaker, everyone understands that we should help people who are starving and many of who are actually dying of starvation. However, I think our own attitude in this country is entirely ambiguous, in that we are not prepared to protect the right to life of defenceless creatures. This is a shameful injustice, Mr. Speaker.
We do not want to let old people, men, women and children die in Ethiopia, and our actions are laudable. But why should we let our own children be killed in a civilized country?
We are willing to protect and to help people in need, but why so we let our own children be killed by abortionists who operate freely without any scruples?
Finally, Mr. Speaker, as a Member of this House, I still fail to understand how we can make such admirable efforts to feed the hungry of the world and at the same time let others kill those who have a right to be born.”
Ontario
In the Ontario legislature on the day of the verdict, November 8, Liberal leader David Peterson asked if Mr. McMurtry would meet Mr. Crosbie to discuss the matter, this the Attorney-General thought “premature”. NDP leader Bob Rae charged that the province must stop “sticking its head in the sand” and accept that there is a need for independent abortion clinics to “ensure access to a service which many women obviously feel they have a right to.” (CP-Gazette, Nov. 10). “We cannot,” he said, “have the Minister of Health or the Attorney-General acting as a kind of moral censor on what juries have found to essentially be private and moral decisions.” (Toronto Star, November 10) MPP Jim Pollock (PC Hastings-Peterborough) repeatedly hollered, “Break the law” at Rae.
Ontario Health Minister, Keith Norton, firmly reiterated that the Ontario government wasn’t interested in accrediting abortion clinics. Earlier he had declined Morgentaler’s offer to accept his abortuary as a pilot project.
MPP John Sweeney (L-Kitchener-Wilmot) demanded that Ontario obey federal law and ensure that abortions be performed in hospitals for reasons of the mother’s health only. Toronto now performs 25 per cent of Canada’s abortions and has had more abortions than live births for three years in a row, he said. The London Free Press (Nov. 10), reported that he received loud applause from numerous Tories, including Environment Minister Andy Brandt, Andy Watson (PC-Chatham Kent), Phil Gilles (PC-Brantford), Community and Social Services Minister Frank Drea and Al Kolyn (PC-Lakeshore).
On Saturday, Nov. 10, Ontario NDP leader Bob Rae joined that Morgentaler victory celebration at Queen’s Park. He addressed a group of feminists, which numbered 700 according to the Globe and Mail but no more than 300 according to the Toronto Star, the Toronto Sun and the editor of The Interim. The group also heard a speech by Chaviva Hosek, University of Toronto professor and president of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women.
On November 19, 1984, Kitchener, MPP John Sweeney and Ottawa MP John Reimer, issued a combined statement calling on the provincial and federal ministers not to permit Morgentaler to defy the law. This resulted in an attack by Morgentaler. On November 30, Sweeney urged Roy McMurtry to appeal.
Four weeks later, on Tuesday, December 4, after Ontario’s Attorney General announced the government would appeal; Liberal Leader David Peterson endorsed McMurtry’s decision, saying that in light of federal law he had little other choice. NDP Leader Bob Rae, however, whose party officially supports the concept of independent abortuaries, angrily denounced it. (Ottawa Citizen, December 5, 1984)
