Thank You, Canada, for Honoring Abortion Rights Provider Morganthaler

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Portion below; whole thing here: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-abortion.html

TORONTO (Reuters) - Henry Morgentaler, the doctor who led the fight to legalize abortion in Canada two decades ago, said on Wednesday he was proud to be receiving his country's highest civilian award, an honor condemned by anti-abortion advocates and hailed by his supporters.

The diminutive 85-year-old said he deserved to receive the Governor General's Order of Canada, a decision announced on Tuesday by Governor General Michaelle Jean, the country's head of state.

"It's a sign of recognition for all the work I've done over the years and the sacrifices I've borne and the unjust sentence of imprisonment that I've suffered 20 years ago," Morgentaler said at a press conference at his Toronto clinic.

Morgentaler, a Holocaust survivor born in Poland, began the fight for abortion rights in Canada when he opened an illegal clinic in Montreal in 1969. He was jailed for 10 months after declaring publicly that he had performed thousands of abortions without going through a strict screening process conducted by a three-doctor committee.

He was eventually acquitted in Quebec, and went on to challenge laws in other provinces, leading to a landmark Supreme Court ruling in 1988 that struck down anti-abortion provisions of the Criminal Code as unconstitutional.

"Women no longer die as a result of abortion," he said on Wednesday, "and I'm very proud of that."

The award has raised fierce opposition among religious groups, anti-abortion organizations and members of Canada's Conservative government, which has distanced itself from the decision to honor Morgentaler.

"Canada's highest honor has been debased," Roman Catholic Archbishop Thomas Collins of Toronto said in a statement. "We are all diminished."

Today, Canada is among the countries with the greatest access to abortion in publicly funded hospitals and clinics. Exceptions are the small Maritime provinces of Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, where there is limited or no access due to a shortage of qualified doctors and facilities.

Morgentaler, who was praised on the governor general's Web site for "his commitment to increased health-care options for women," is one of 75 people who will receive the prestigious award at a later date.

Appointments are made on the recommendations of an independent council chaired by the chief justice of Canada.

While an Angus Reid poll last month showed half of Canadians believe abortion should be legal under any circumstances, opponents say they speak for the majority of Canadians.