Thousands protest plan to award abortionist honorary degree
LONDON, ON—Although a plan by the University of Western Ontario (UWO) to confer an honorary doctor of laws degree on Canada's foremost abortion proponent has generated great controversy, as of press time, the university was still planning to honour Henry Morgentaler during its spring convocation ceremonies on June 16.
In a March edition of the Western News, the university noted Morgentaler "founded the first abortion clinic in Montreal in 1968 and in the year that followed, he challenged the Criminal Code…He has continued to campaign province-by-province seeking to provide abortion services…Today, Morgentaler operates six clinics in Canada providing…abortion and contraceptive services."
Since the article appeared, thousands of students, faculty, alumni and Canadians-at-large have rallied against the university's decision to give Morgentaler the degree, flooding UWO administration with phone calls, e-mail and letters. Some estimates place the current cost to the university from cancelled donations, bequests and other funding at up to $50 million.
By the end of May almost 12,000 people had signed an online petition at www.uwoprotest.com, stating their displeasure with the UWO's plans. Signatories include alumni and members of Parliament Paul Szabo and Pat O'Brien, Graham Singh, chair of UWO's alumni branch in the U.K., and Jean Chamberlain, an assistant professor in obstetrics and gynecology at McMaster University who is currently on sabbatical in Yemen and Uganda, where she is participating in international women's health initiatives.
Ronald Fabbro, Roman Catholic bishop of London, jumped into the fray with an open letter to university president Paul Davenport, in which he called the move to honour Morgentaler "inconceivable and appalling."
The controversy also hit the national media, with headlines appearing coast to coast in outlets such as the Sun newspaper chain and the National Post, where columnists including Ian Hunter, professor emeritus in the faculty of law at UWO, have derided the university's decision.
Meanwhile, protesters organized a series of demonstrations leading up to UWO's convocation ceremony–up to 1,000 people were expected to protest before and during the event. Campaign Life Coalition, one of the protest organizers, was encouraging participants to wear black clothing, armbands or ribbon, tie black ribbons on their car antennae and to fly flags at half-mast that day. There was also to be a minute of silence at noon.
Morgentaler's supporters organized their own rallies, and planned to hold a celebration featuring music and food at the UWO on the day of the convocation. And, in cooperation with the London North Centre NDP, supporters held a London screening of the Morgentaler biopic Choice, which drew about 25 people.
Despite the controversy, the UWO maintains that decisions made by its honorary degrees committee are final, and that they won't be reconsidering their choice to honour Morgentaler.
However, Morgentaler's detractors say the UWO's senate has no policy against revisiting and reversing such decisions and that Morgentaler is an inappropriate recipient for an honorary degree, given that he has performed tens of thousands of abortions and has numerous other black stains on his record.
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