In its issue of April 28, under the above title, the Globe and Mail published a scathing editorial attacking the Pro-life people who picketed outside the home of one of the doctors who performs abortions at the Morgentaler Clinic. The editorial is characterized by pejorative language and lack of veracity. That the Globe should take this position is far from surprising. A perusal of some of its editorials during the late 1960s gives ample proof of the paper’s pro-abortion bias.
Blatantly untrue
For instance, the story about two young boys being told to “go knock on her door and tell her to stop killing babies” is simply a distortion of facts. I invite – in fact I challenge – any responsible member of the Globe and Mail staff to go to the Campaign Life office and view a video which shows the entire picket. They will see and hear exactly what happened. A national newspaper should be more accurate and honest in it’s reporting.
The Status of the Clinic
According to the editorial, the “status of the Morgentaler Clinic, which is not a hospital under the law, remains in limbo.” It was doctors Morgentaler and Scott who were charged – not the clinic. At present there are two new doctors performing the abortions. Neither has been charged and both these doctors are breaking the law and being guarded by the “forces of law and order.” If the Premier of Ontario, the Attorney General of Ontario and the Commissioner of Police were men of their word, both these doctors would have been charged under Section 251 of the Criminal Code. But they are being allowed to continue to murder babies. Dead babies don’t have votes!
Character suicide
“Dirty Exercise in Character Assassination!” is how the Globe and Mail editorial sums up the peaceful picketing which took place outside Dr. Colodny’s house. But in the Toronto Star (March 18) Dr. Colodny is quoted as saying, “I’d like people to know that there’s a new doctor at the clinic.” If a person commits “character suicide” it is rather difficult to follow it up with “character assassination.”
The editorial then goes on to take issue with the term “baby killing” as applied to abortions by the pro-life protesters. It states that, “baby killing is against the law in Canada, whereas abortion of the ‘fetus’ is quite legal …” That, of course, is our objection. It is a moral contradiction. According to the findings of genetic science the difference between a bay in the womb and a baby in its crib is merely one of development. Both have the same right to life which no state can either confer or take away.
I Agree
The only part of the editorial with which I agree is the bit which says, “It is far easier to picket a clinic than a major hospital.” Of course it is and that’s why we do it! It is not because we think that abortions which are performed “according to the law” in hospitals are any less deplorable than those done in the clinic. It is important to make that point clear. The object of picketing or protesting is to make the public aware of something which is wrong. It is much easier to be seen outside a clinic on a residential street than on the crowded thoroughfare outside a large hospital.
The Globe and Mail must be aware that two courts in Canada have found, on the facts, that human life begins at conception and that the child is a separate entity from the mother.
Another Important Reason
But there is another reason for concentrating attention on the clinic. We have reason to believe that this clinic was opened as a “trial balloon.” If it is accepted by Toronto society – and especially if the government “looks the other way,” similar clinics could be started all over the Province. Both society and the Government have certainly obliged by a mixture of apathy and political expediency. Figuratively speaking, in my opinion, they have as much blood on their hands as the clinic staff – and the Globe and Mail is running a close third.
