Kingston
Queen’s University has invited Henry Morgentaler to speak in its prestigious Dunning Trust lecture series in February 1985. This year the series is devoted to health and human dignity. Morgentaler has been invited to open the series on February 5 with a lecture on the medical, moral and legal aspects of abortion. The lecture series was established in 1947: “to promote understanding and appreciation of the supreme importance of the dignity, freedom and responsibility of the individual person in human society.”
According to Dr. Gerald Hodge, chairman of the committee that runs the lecture series, Dr. Morgentaler is an ideal speaker because he has devoted more than half his life to the pursuit of human dignity. Another committee member, Dr. George Brandie, explained that speakers higher on the list had declined, thereby opening the invitation to Morgentaler.
Mrs. Mary Ellen Douglas, president of Campaign Life-Kingston, invited the University to cancel the lecture. If the University refuses, her group will lead a protest demonstrating she stated. Attempts are being made to get alumni and other interested parties to send in their objections. Queen’s Journal, of Tuesday, January 15, reporting reactions, noted Roman Catholic Archbishop Francis Spence of Kingston as saying: “I am certainly surprised! He added he had just heard the news. But the church has had no planned reaction.”
Meanwhile, the evening before, on Monday night, Professor Hodge had declared on TV, that Pro-Life’s opposition to the Morgentaler invitation was “immoral” and “possible illegal.” On Thursday, January 16, Hodge also provided more information about the other two invited speakers, Dr. Mary O’Brien, a sociologist at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) in Toronto, and Dr. Richard Selzer, a Yale University surgeon and author.
Dr. O’Brien is the author of the book Politics of Reproduction and was described by Hodge as a “radical feminist” who will provide “a feminist perspective on health care.” Selzer is the author of four books and will discuss “the exact location of the soul.” This topic is even more challenging that the sixteenth century doctoral thesis of the University of Paris about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.
AdeV
