Our nation's highest civilian honour has been bestowed upon Dr. Henry
Morgentaler, thereby granting him official recognition for his contributions to
health care and humanitarian work in Canada.
Uh huh. So what exactly are those contributions?
Dr. (I use this term loosely) Morgentaler made abortion 'legal' through a
challenge to the Supreme Court. The Court struck down the law against abortion
in 1988. Twenty years later, Canada still has no law against abortion at any
time during gestation, but we do have an international reputation for having the
most liberal abortion policies in the developed world. Apparently, this is
something to be celebrated.
He made abortion available. His great healthcare legacy is a chain of private
abortion clinics where doctors can make great wads of cash outside of the
medical/ethical oversight of hospital committees and other doctors.
Finally, he is credited with making abortion safe. He said this week that his
efforts made abortion "one of the safest surgical procedures" and women are no
longer killed, injured or left infertile.
Too many have bought into these claims that Morgentaler is somehow the medical
saviour of Canadian women. They likely support the view of one pro-abortion
advocate who said, "Like him or not, the man brought safety to women in Canada
and we should finally give him credit."
It is an inarguable fact that Dr. Morgentaler made abortion 'legal' (if only
because there are no laws) and more readily available. But a growing number of
medical studies suggest abortion is hardly the "safe surgical procedure' that
Dr. Morgentaler proclaims it to be.
He may have made abortions 'safer' by cutting the so-called back-alley butcher
out of the abortion market, but since then 'safe' abortions have put women at an
increased risk for hospitalization, breast cancer and psychological events like
suicide.
Abortion has been repeatedly documented as a major risk factor for pregnancies
resulting in low birth weight and premature birth. In 2001, the British Journal
of Obstetrics and Gynecology showed that having one abortion increases a woman's
risk of premature delivery by 30 per cent; two abortions by 90 per cent.
In 2003, a study in the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons evaluated 49
studies that showed a significant increase in the risk of premature births or
low birth weight babies in women who had abortions.
Is small size really such a big problem? It is for the baby. Premature birth is
a leading cause of cerebral palsy and small babies are at increased risk for
infant mortality, disabilities, lower cognitive abilities and greater
behavioural problems. The risk of these complications is increased further if
the mother has had repeat abortions.
In 1996, a paper in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health provided
the first real evidence of a connection between abortion and breast cancer.
Pooled data from 28 different studies demonstrated that women who had abortions
had increased their risk of developing breast cancer by 30 per cent.
Subsequent studies supposedly disproved this association, but a 2005 Journal of
American Physicians and Surgeons paper showed these studies had methodologies
that were sufficiently flawed "to invalidate their findings." And, in 2007, the
Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons reported that induced abortion was
the risk factor that best predicted the incidence of breast cancer in European
women.
The risk of psychological harm as a result of abortion has also been well
documented.
When compared to women who gave birth, women who had abortions were shown to be
six times more likely to commit suicide (British Medical Journal, 1996), five
times more likely to abuse drugs or alcohol (American Journal of Drug and
Alcohol Abuse, 2000) and 63 per cent more likely to need mental care within 90
days of the abortion (American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 2002).
Finally, a 2001 study by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario
showed that in the first three months after abortion, women have a higher rate
of hospitalization for infection (four times greater), other surgical procedures
(five times greater) and psychiatric problems (five times greater).
All of the above suggests that Dr. Morgentaler's contribution to the health and
safety of Canadian women is questionable, at best.
In fact, the data suggest he could just as easily be cited for putting women at
increased risk for major health problems.
If his achievements are suspect, so is his skill as a doctor. In 1976, he was
charged by the Quebec College of Physicians for not taking a patient history,
blood or urine tests prior to an abortion procedure.
In 1998, he was found guilty of negligence by the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia
for allowing a woman to leave the clinic -- unattended -- within 30 minutes of
undergoing an abortion.
She complained of pain and shakiness, yet he allowed her to get into her car and
drive. She subsequently fainted and swerved into oncoming traffic.
Based on the facts (and not ideology), there is no good reason for Canadians to
recognize -- let alone celebrate -- this man's so-called achievements.
Susan Martinuk is a former medical researcher who conducted PhD studies in the
field of infertility and reproductive technologies.
Source : The Calgary Herald 2008
