POL 151 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Therapeutic Abortion Committee, Abortion Clinic, Henry Morgentaler
24 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Right to Life/Right to Die
• Moral choices present both ‘good’ and ‘bad’ impulses that guide/inform our thoughts,
ideas and actions.
• Common sources of moral rules include the following: religions; politics; families;
markets; cultural influences—for ex. humanity’s conceptualization of life…
• Sanctity of Life—in the religious sense, life is considered to be sacred, life is precious;
life is a gift from God.
• Intrinsic Value—in the realm of moral philosophy, life is understood as temporal and
mortal. Hence as self-aware, conscious beings, humans conceive of life as finite that is to
be accorded intrinsic, meaningful value.
• Moral issues in politics often blend or clash with issues of freedom of choice and/or
rights—for instance:
• …in the case of abortion, public policy must navigate complex questions regarding when
life begins: at conception or birth
• …in the case of euthanasia/assisted suicide, public policy must navigate complex
questions regarding whether the state is morally just in denying terminally ill citizens of
sound mind the sole sovereignty to end their suffering. On the other hand, does the right
to die inevitably necessitate society down a slippery slope towards a much more
expanded scope of euthanasia beyond the critically sick? For ex. the elderly? Chronically
ill minors? Incurable psychiatric patients?
Canada’s Right to Life/Pro-choice debate timeline…
1892-1969: abortion was deemed illegal under all circumstances and carried a maximum
sentence of life in prison for those convicted of the act.
1969-1988: “The State has no business in the bedrooms of the nation,”—Trudeau’s Omnibus Bill
amended Section 251 of the Canadian Criminal Code to allow for abortions if:
• The procedure was performed solely at accredited hospitals
• If it received certification of approval by the hospital's Therapeutic Abortion Committee
Henry Morgentaler—born in Poland in 1923, survived Auschwitz to study medicine in
Germany, he moved to Montréal in 1950 to practice as a GP.
1968: after testifying before a government committee on abortion restrictions, Morgentaler was
swamped with so many female clients seeking abortion access that he closed his general
practice down and opened Canada’s first abortion clinic in Canada.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
1970: Morgentaler’s first arrest for performing an abortion in violation of Section 251 of the
Criminal Code. Eventually acquitted, in 1974 his acquittal was overturned and was
sentenced to prison for 10 months—a sentence which he appealed and was once again
acquitted.
1976: Morgentaler’s history of acquittals led the Parliament to pass the “Morgentaler
Amendment,” to ensure that to ensure that appellate courts could no longer overturn an appeal
in order to “re-apply” a conviction to a previously acquitted defendant, as any future
overturned appeals by the Crown would automatically trigger a new trial.
1983: Upon opening an abortion clinic in Winnipeg, Morgentaler and staff members were
charged with procuring a miscarriage
1984-1987: Several more police raids on Morgentaler clinics followed as did more charges
1988: R. v. Morgentaler—1988 Supreme Court appeal of the 1983 charge of procuring a
miscarriage solidified Morgentaler’s reputation as the pro-choice side’s champion as the
Court struck down Section 251 as unconstitutional, thus leaving Canada as one of the few
countries in the world with no formal legislation regulating the practice of abortion.
1989: Brian Mulroney’s government responded R. v. Morgentaler by attempting to “re-
criminalize” the procedure in any instance where a woman's physical mental and
psychological health was not deemed to be at risk. Despite surviving a close free vote in
the Commons, Bill C-43 died in the Senate in a tie vote.
2008: a parliamentary report documented that “access to abortion services has been in decline
since the 1990’s”
2013: Responding to a letter submitted by three Tory MPs to RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson
investigate some 491 abortions performed between 2000-2009 as “possible homicides;”
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, reaffirms his government’s “official” stance that abortion
access in Canada is essentially a settled matter.
Right to Die
Premised on a perceived individual right to end one’s life via assisted suicide or euthanasia—
peoples’ perception of the right to die essentially boils down to a debate between one’s
perception of quality of life issue vs. that of personal morality.
Assisted suicide: the individual who wishes to terminate their life is in complete control of the
end-of-life process, but requires the assistance of another to carry out the act—
for ex. a physician who supplies the patient the means to end his/her life.
Euthanasia: one person is asked to intentionally cause the death of another to protect him/her
from further suffering.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Moral choices present both good" and bad" impulses that guide/inform our thoughts, Intrinsic value in the realm of moral philosophy, life is understood as temporal and mortal. 1892-1969: abortion was deemed illegal under all circumstances and carried a maximum sentence of life in prison for those convicted of the act. 1969-1988: the state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation, trudeau"s omnibus bill amended section 251 of the canadian criminal code to allow for abortions if: the procedure was performed solely at accredited hospitals. If it received certification of approval by the hospital"s therapeutic abortion committee. Henry morgentaler born in poland in 1923, survived auschwitz to study medicine in. Germany, he moved to montr al in 1950 to practice as a gp. 1968: after testifying before a government committee on abortion restrictions, morgentaler was swamped with so many female clients seeking abortion access that he closed his general practice down and opened canada"s first abortion clinic in canada.
