Henry Morgentaler

Henry Morgentaler
CM
Henry Morgentaler (right) in August, 2005, with then NDP Leader Jack Layton
Born
Heniek Morgentaler

(1923-03-19)March 19, 1923
Łódź, Poland
DiedMay 29, 2013(2013-05-29) (aged 90)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
NationalityCanadian
Occupation(s)Doctor, activist
Known forabortion rights advocacy
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1945⁠–⁠1975)​
Children2

Henekh "Henry" Morgentaler[1] CM (March 19, 1923 – May 29, 2013), was a Polish-born Canadian physician and abortion rights advocate who fought numerous legal battles aimed at expanding abortion rights in Canada. As a Jewish youth during World War II, Morgentaler was imprisoned at the Łódź Ghetto and later at the Dachau concentration camp.

After the war, Morgentaler migrated to Canada and entered medical practice, becoming one of the first Canadian doctors to perform vasectomies, to insert intrauterine devices, and to provide birth control pills to unmarried women. He opened his first abortion clinic in 1969 in Montreal, challenging what he saw as an unjust law placing burdensome restrictions on women seeking abortions.[2] He was the first doctor in North America to use vacuum aspiration and went on to open twenty clinics and train more than one hundred doctors.[3][4][5] Morgentaler twice challenged the constitutionality of the federal abortion law, losing the first time, in Morgentaler v R in 1975, but winning the second time, in R v Morgentaler in 1988.[2]

In 2008, Morgentaler was awarded the Order of Canada "for his commitment to increased health care options for women, his determined efforts to influence Canadian public policy and his leadership in humanist and civil liberties organizations."[6][7][8] Morgentaler died at the age of 90 of a heart attack.[3]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference chava-bio was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b McFadden, Robert D. (May 29, 2013). "Henry Morgentaler, 90, Dies; Abortion Defender in Canada". New York Times. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Abortion rights activist Dr. Henry Morgentaler dies at 90". CBC News. May 29, 2013. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  4. ^ Morgentaler H H (1973). "Report on 5641 outpatient abortions by vacuum suction curettage". CMAJ. 109 (12): 1202–5. PMC 1947080. PMID 4758593.
  5. ^ Morgentaler H (May–June 1989). "Alan F. Guttmacher lecture". Am J Gynecol Health. 3 (3–S): 38–45. PMID 12284999.
  6. ^ Morgentaler named to Order of Canada, Globe and Mail, 2008-07-01 Archived 2008-10-11 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference list was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Morgentaler proud to be 'finally' recognized". CTV News. July 2, 2008. Retrieved May 29, 2013.