Saint-Lambert, QC—In an era in which Supreme Court judges have approved such objectionable phenomena as abortion, same-sex “marriage” and swingers clubs, the death of Louis-Philippe de Grandpre Jan. 24 at the age of 90 harkened back to a time when there was still some morality left in Canadian jurisprudence.
De Grandpre served as a Supreme Court judge for three years in the mid-1970s, during which time he openly declared that, “Abortion at any stage of pregnancy is murder and any attack against the fetus is a crime. To kill a fetus is murder.” He also believed it was up to Parliament, and not the courts, to legislate abortion laws in Canada.
De Grandpre was appointed to the Supreme Court while Henry Morgentaler was in the midst of his crusade to legalize abortion in Canada. He voted to deny an appeal by the abortionist in 1975, as Morgentaler’s lawyer sought to have de Grandpre excuse himself from the bench in light of his pro-life views. The judge refused the request, with the support of Chief Justice Bora Laskin, who pointed out the appeal was on a question of law, not the morality of abortion itself (National Post, Feb. 4, 2008).
De Grandpre was invested as a member of the Order of Canada in 1971.