MORGENTALER: PIONEER OR MONSTER?

10/31/06

Morgentaler: Pioneer or Monster? By Lee Hanlon

Criminology Column, The Cascade News

Recently, a commercial I saw on channel 99 gave fame to Doctor Henry Morgantaler as a Canadian trailblazer. On this commercial, Morgantaler was heard stating that after experiencing the Nazi death camp he vowed to make life better for others by offering abortion services. For you readers that don't know, Doctor Morgantaler gained recognition as the first high profile abortion practitioner in Canada. During the 1960's and early 1970's Morgantaler set up abortion clinics in Ontario and Manitoba, performing more than 15,000 abortions. The procedures used caused severe pain on the unborn child. The first example of an abortion procedure is Suction Aspiration:

general or local anesthesia is given to the mother and her cervix is

quickly dilated.

A suction curette (hollow tube with a knife-edged tip) is inserted into the womb.

This instrument is then connected to a vacuum machine by a transparent tube.

The vacuum suction, 29 times more powerful than a household vacuum cleaner,

tears the fetus ("Young One" in Latin) and placenta into small pieces which are

sucked through the tube into a bottle and discarded. This is the most common

method of abortion during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. The second example of an abortion procedure is Dilation and Evacuation (D&E): This method is used up to 18 weeks' gestation. A pair of forceps is inserted into the womb to grasp part of the fetus.

The teeth of the forceps twist and tear the body of the unborn child. This process is repeated until the fetus is totally dismembered and removed. Usually the spine must

be snapped and the skull crushed in order to remove the unborn child from the uterus. A third example is Dilation and Extraction (D&X) - Partial Birth Abortion: The D&X method is used when the fetus is 20 to 26 weeks of age.

At this stage of development, the toughness of the fetal tissues make the D&E method difficult. Partial birth abortion evolved to overcome this problem.

After dilating the cervix for two days, the abortionist uses ultra- sound to locate the legs

of the fetus. One leg is pulled into the vagina with forceps, then the other leg and torso

are delivered by hand. The head of the fetus remains in the uterus.

Using blunt-tipped surgical scissors in a closed position, the abortionist pierces

the head of the fetus at the base of the skull, and then opens the scissors to

enlarge the hole. A suction catheter is inserted into the wound and the skull

contents vacuumed out.

The corpse is then pulled completely from the mother's body. There are many other procedures used in abortions. The end result in each of the various abortion procedure is a very painful death. The scientific evidence that pre-born children are capable of feeling pain is overwhelming. Modern technologies such as fibre optics, sonogram and electroencephalograms (EEG) lend further proof by giving us a clear picture of the baby before birth. Unpleasant sensations are not tolerated very well by the child in the womb. When the mother moves too much, the baby kicks her. If something hurts, she throws out her arms, wiggles her entire body, opens her mouth and cries, just as she will after birth.

During intrauterine manipulations, such as transfusions, the child must be heavily

sedated, or she will move Away from the needle. Changes in the heart rate and

increase in movement indicate that these stimuli are painful. In America Medical News, February 24, 1984, Dr. Vincent Collins, Diplomat and Fellow of the American Board of Anesthesiologists, stated: "As early as eight to ten weeks' gestation, and definitely by thirteen-and-a-half weeks, the human fetus experiences organic pain." Dr. Collins listed the following factors as evidence that the fetus is capable of pain:

*The cortex is developed between four and five weeks of age; *Reflex actions can be observed between four and seven weeks; *Brain waves are detectable between six and seven weeks; *Nerves connecting the spinal cord to peripheral structures have developed between six to eight weeks; *Adverse reactions to stimuli are observed between eight and ten weeks; *Neurotransmitters capable of sending pain signals to the brain are present at twelve weeks. From evidence given to the Supreme Court of the United States in J.M. v. V.C., October term, 1992, we know that at seven weeks the skin pain receptors are present, and they have been preceded by the nerve fibres of the neural pathways, and the nerve junctions (synapses) with the spinal cord; we also know that by 12 weeks, the thalamus, mid-brain, brain stem and cerebellar hemisphere have developed. Doctor Ken Craig, a researcher of pain in premature babies at the University of British Columbia, told the Vancouver Province (August 30, 1995) that "by every measure, the fetus from 16-19 weeks reacts to a painful

stimulus in a manner consistent with the perception of pain. At 24-25 weeks

post conception, a fetus displays all of the physiological and behavioural

reactions you observe in children and adults." In January 1988, the Supreme Court of Canada, in the Morgantaler decision, struck down the existing abortion law, Section 251 of the Criminal Code, for procedural reasons related to the "security of person" clause in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Section 7 reads: "Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person

and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice."

It was argued that, for a number of reasons, including the delay it would require in

procuring an abortion, Section 251 threatened women's bodily "security." I ask you this: "When did becoming pregnant become a threat to a woman's body?" Do we value life so little that we are unwilling to protect society's most vulnerable victims? Morgantaler alleged that he was a Jewish prisoner of Auschwitz, and claims that providing these abortion services would prevent future death camps, similar to Auschwitz, from being built. History tells us that Auschwitz was one of many of Hitler's death camps where over six million Jews alone were murdered in cold blood. Auschwitz was a major element in the perpetration of the Holocaust. The harsh work requirements, combined with poor nutrition and hygiene, led to high death rates among the prisoners.

Other ways prisoners were killed was by way of cyanide gas. At least 340, 000

prisoners perished through executions, beatings, starvation, and sickness. Upon arrival all children, all women with children, all the elderly, and all those who appeared on brief and superficial inspection by an SS doctor not to be fully fit. More than 20,000 people could be gassed and cremated each day. Doctor Josef Mengele, the Nazi medical doctor, performed medical experiments on Jewish prisoners without administering any anesthesia. One example was castration.

Another was pulling gold teeth out, and another was skinning the patient

alive, in which the skin was later used as a lampshade. Legs and arms were also amputated. The end result, a very painful death.

Sound familiar? My question is this: "If Doctor Morgantaler was in fact a prisoner of Auschwitz, why is it that he is following in Hitler's path, adapting Hitler's 'Final Solution' in the form of abortion?" Hitler's "Final Solution" was to irradicate the world of the unwanted. Hitler

blamed the Jews for the world's problems. For whatever reasons, women

have abortions because they do not want the baby.

Sound familiar?

Has the very same society that took up arms against Hitler become just like him? Is Doctor Henry Morgantaler a Pioneer? Or, is he a monster?

In my opinion he is Josef Mengele re-incarnated. What say you?

#Prolife