Morgentaler, Henry (1923-2013), a Canadian doctor, became known for his work to legalize abortion in Canada. Abortion is the ending of a pregnancy before birth. Beginning in the 1960’s, Morgentaler began performing abortions in Montreal. He later opened abortion clinics across Canada. He trained dozens of doctors to perform abortions.
He was born Henryk Morgentaler in Łódź, Poland, on March 19, 1923. Morgentaler’s father was killed during the German invasion of Poland at the beginning of World War II (1939-1945). Morgentaler’s family was confined, along with other Jews, to the Łódź ghetto. In 1944, they were sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where his mother died. Morgentaler and his brother were later sent to Dachau in Germany. They were freed in 1945 when Allied forces liberated the camp. After the war, Morgentaler lived in Germany and Belgium, where he studied medicine. He moved to Canada in 1950 and received a medical degree at the University of Montreal in 1953. He remained in Montreal to practice medicine.
Morgentaler believed that Canada’s anti-abortion laws violated a woman’s right to control her body and forced women to give birth to unwanted children. In the 1960’s, Morgentaler led groups calling for the unrestricted legalization of abortion in Canada. Soon afterward, he began to perform abortions for women in violation of the law. He was attacked for his views and occasionally charged for acts of civil disobedience. In the 1970’s, he served 10 months in jail before he was acquitted in a new trial. In 1988, a landmark Canadian Supreme Court decision ruled that the country’s abortion ban was unconstitutional.
In 2008, Morgentaler was appointed to the Order of Canada, one of the country’s highest civilian honors. His appointment outraged many people who opposed abortion. Morgentaler died on May 28, 2013. He remains a controversial figure.
