Dr. Henry Morgentaler speaks at a press conference in Ottawa on Feb. 10, 1976. Morgentaler, who helped overturn Canada's abortion law 25 years ago, died Wednesday at his Toronto home.
Image Credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chuck Mitchell
May 29, 2013 - 12:03 PM
TORONTO - An abortion advocate says the country would be a very different place for women if not for the work of Dr. Henry Morgentaler.
Morgentaler, who was born in Poland and became an abortion rights crusader after coming to Canada following the Second World War, died today at the age of 90.
Carolyn Egan, with the Ontario Coalition of Abortion Clinics, says Morgentaler had a huge impact on the lives of women in Canada, bringing them reproductive freedom.
Joyce Arthur, executive director of the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada, says he is a "Canadian hero," who saved the lives of countless women.
Morgentaler opened the first abortion clinic in Montreal, followed by more clinics across the country, and fought Canada's abortion law, which ultimately resulted in the Supreme Court's landmark 1988 decision declaring it unconstitutional.
Morgentaler's crusade earned him many opponents, and in reaction to his death today a spokeswoman for the anti-abortion group Campaign Life Coalition says she hopes Morgentaler repented before his death and that this marks what she called "an end to the killing in Canada."
May 29, 2013 - 10:04 AM
Canadian Press NewsAlert: Abortion crusader Henry Morgentaler dead at 90
TORONTO - Henry Morgentaler, a doctor who became a crusader for Canadian women's rights to have abortions, died this morning, an abortion activist was told by the family.
He was 90.
More coming.
Dr. Henry Morgentaler listens to a question during a news conference in Toronto on Wednesday, July 2, 2008 to discuss being named to the Order of Canada. Morgentaler, a doctor who became a crusader for Canadian women's rights to have abortions, died this morning, an abortion activist was told by the family.
Image Credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
News from © The Canadian Press, 2013