Media Releases
R v Morgentaler: Reflections After 25 Years
January 28, 2013
TORONTO, ON — Media are invited to a panel discussion January 29, 2013, 5:30 – 7:30 pm on one of Canada’s most momentous decisions in Canadian law: R v Morgentaler.
It was 25 years ago, on January 28, 1988, that the Supreme Court of Canada struck down Canada’s abortion law using the still new Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The legal battle was long, dramatic and groundbreaking – including a police raid on a clinic, novel constitutional evidence and arguments, an extraordinary criminal jury trial, an acquittal overturned by the Court of Appeal, followed by a week-long hearing and divided decision at the Supreme Court.
Hear from participants in the case, such as Dr. Robert Scott (appellant and co-accused), Morris Manning, QC (counsel for Henry Morgentaler and his co-accused), Globe and Mail justice reporter Kirk Makin, Faculty of Law constitutional scholar Prof. Lorraine Weinrib, and Carolyn Egan (expert witness at the trial), as they reflect on the historic events and the continued significance of the case today.
The panel will be moderated by Paul Schabas (co-counsel for the appellant), of Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP and Cheryl Milne, executive director of the David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights at the Faculty of Law.
What: R v Morgentaler: Reflections After 25 Years
When: Tuesday, January 29, 2013 / 5:30–7:30 p.m. (Reception to follow)
Where: Bennett Lecture Hall, Flavelle House, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto (near Museum Subway stop)
Registration: http://www.aspercentre.ca/events/calendar/Morgentaler.htm (Seating is limited)
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For further information, please contact:
Lucianna Ciccocioppo
Director, External Relations
Faculty of Law
Tel: 416–946-0334
lucianna.ciccocioppo@utoronto.ca