| Morgentaler v R | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Hearing: October 2, 3, 4, 7, 1974 Judgment: 1975-03-26 | |
| Full case name | Dr. Henry Morgentaler (Appellant) v Her Majesty The Queen (Respondent) and Attorney General of Canada, Foundation for Women in Crisis, Canadian Civil Liberties Association, Alliance for Life, Association des médecins du Québec and the Front Commun pour le Respect de la vie, and Fondation pour la vie (Interveners) |
| Citations | Morgentaler v. The Queen, [1976] 1 S.C.R. 616 |
| Prior history | APPEAL from a judgment of the Court of Queen's Bench, Appeal Side, Province of Quebec: R v Morgentaler, [1974] CA 129 (Casey, Rinfret, Crete, Bélanger and Dubé JJ.A). |
| Ruling | Appeal dismissed. |
| Holding | |
| Section 251 of the Criminal Code which prohibits abortion except under certain circumstances is a valid exercise of the federal criminal law power and does not infringe the Canadian Bill of Rights. The indictment was not an abuse of process. The defence of necessity did not apply, nor did the defence set out in s 45 of the Criminal Code relating to medical procedures. The Court of Appeal had the power to set aside the acquittal and enter a conviction, but this power is to be used with great circumspection. | |
| Court membership | |
| Chief Justice | Laskin CJC |
| Puisne Justices | Martland, Judson, Ritchie, Spence, Pigeon, Dickson, Beetz and de Grandpré JJ |
| Reasons given | |
| Majority | Pigeon J, joined by Martland, Ritchie, Beetz and de Grandpré JJ |
| Majority | Dickson J, joined by Martland, Ritchie, Beetz and de Grandpré JJ |
| Concurrence | Dickson J |
| Concurrence | Pigeon J |
| Concur/dissent | Laskin CJC, joined by Judson and Spence JJ |
| Laws applied | |
| Criminal Code, RSC 1970, c C-34, ss 45, 251(1), (4), 613(4)(b), 603, 605, 618(2) | |
Morgentaler v R (also known as Morgentaler v The Queen) is a decision of the Supreme Court of Canada where physician Henry Morgentaler unsuccessfully challenged the prohibition of abortion in Canada under the federal Criminal Code. The Court found the abortion law was appropriately passed by Parliament under the laws of federalism. This was the first of three Supreme Court decisions on abortion that were brought by Morgentaler.