Canadian bishops affirm dignity of all human life

(Vatican Radio) A day after Canadian abortionist Dr. Henry Morgentaler died in his Toronto home, the president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Richard Smith of Edmonton, issued a message.

"Recognizing that they have lost a loved one, I wish to express to Dr. Henry Morgentaler's family the condolences of the Catholic bishops of Canada,” reads the archbishop’s May 30 message.

“Every human life is sacred and deserves our care and protection. As Catholics, we mourn the loss of each life, in particular of those who die in the womb, and pray to God to be merciful to all who die,” it continues. “May Our Lord help us all to find the best ways to aid those who are suffering and in need."

Morgentaler was born in Poland. The Holocaust survivor and self-proclaimed atheist came to Canada in 1950. He opened his first abortion clinic in Montreal in 1969, and eventually opened eight more clinics across the country.

He had performed thousands of illegal abortions, even serving jail time, before abortion laws were dropped in Canada in 1988, largely due to his legal challenges to the country’s abortion law.

More recently, in 2008, national controversy surrounded Morgentaler once again, when he was awarded the Order of Canada.

Morgentaler died of a heart attack on May 29; he was 90 years old. He is survived by his third wife and four children.

An estimated four million abortions have taken place in Canada in the past 40 years.