Bernard N. Nathanson (July 31, 1926 – February 21, 2011) was an American medical doctor and co-founder, in 1969, of the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (NARAL), later renamed

National Abortion Rights Action League NARAL Pro-Choice America, commonly known as simply NARAL ( ), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in lobbying, political action, and advocacy efforts to oppose restrictions on abortion, to expand access to ...

. He was also the former director of New York City's Center for Reproductive and Sexual Health, but later became an anti-abortion activist. He was the narrator for the controversial 1984 anti-abortion film '' The Silent Scream''.

Early life and education

Nathanson was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. His father was an obstetrician/gynecologist,Vincent, Stephen (21 February 2011)
"Bernard Nathanson Dead at 84"
''

National Catholic Register The ''National Catholic Register'' is a Catholic newspaper in the United States. It was founded on November 8, 1927, by Matthew J. Smith as the national edition of the '' Denver Catholic Register''. The ''Registers current owner is the Ete ...

'',

EWTN The Eternal Word Television Network, more commonly known by its initials EWTN, is an American basic cable television network which presents around-the-clock Catholic-themed programming. It is not only the largest Catholic television network in ...

NEWS. Retrieved 21 February 2011. the same career that Nathanson held in his professional life. Nathanson earned his undergraduate degree at Cornell University and in 1949 graduated with a medical degree from

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

Faculty of Medicine in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

.NYS Professions
/ref>

Career

Nathanson was licensed to practice medicine in New York state in 1952, and became board-certified in obstetrics and gynecology in 1960. He was for a time the director of the Center for Reproductive and Sexual Health (CRASH), then the largest free-standing abortion facility in the world. In 1974, Nathanson wrote: "I am deeply troubled by my own increasing certainty that I had in fact presided over 60,000 deaths." He also wrote that he performed an

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

on a woman whom he had impregnated.''The Hand of God'', pp. 58–59. "In the mid-sixties, I impregnated a woman… and I not only demanded that she terminate the pregnancy… but also coolly informed her that since I was one of the most skilled practitioners of the art, I myself would do the abortion. And I did."

Activism

Pro-abortion rights

Originally an

abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...

activist, Nathanson gained national attention as one of the founding members, along with Lawrence Lader, of the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (later renamed the National Abortion Rights Action League, and now known as

NARAL Pro-Choice America NARAL Pro-Choice America, commonly known as simply NARAL ( ), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in lobbying, political action, and advocacy efforts to oppose restrictions on abortion, to expand access to ...

). He worked with

Betty Friedan Betty Friedan ( February 4, 1921 – February 4, 2006) was an American feminist writer and activist. A leading figure in the women's movement in the United States, her 1963 book ''The Feminine Mystique'' is often credited with sparking the se ...

and others for the

legalization of abortion Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as Pro-choice (term), pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have Abortion law, legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support wome ...

in the United States. Their efforts essentially succeeded with the ''

Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and s ...

'' decision.

Anti-abortion

With the development of

ultrasound Ultrasound is sound waves with frequencies higher than the upper audible limit of human hearing. Ultrasound is not different from "normal" (audible) sound in its physical properties, except that humans cannot hear it. This limit varies ...

in the 1970s, he had the chance to observe a real-time abortion. This led him to reconsider his views on abortion. He is often quoted as saying that abortion is ''"the most atrocious

holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

in the history of the United States"''. He wrote the book ''Aborting America'' in which he discussed what he called "the dishonest beginnings of the abortion movement". In 1983, Nathanson debated

Henry Morgentaler Henekh "Henry" Morgentaler, (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 ...

for an hour on a Canadian national superstation. In 1984, he directed and narrated a film titled '' The Silent Scream'', in co-operation with the

National Right to Life Committee The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) is the oldest and largest national anti-abortion organization in the United States with affiliates in all 50 states and more than 3,000 local chapters nationwide. Since the 1980s, NRLC has influen ...

, which contained the ultrasound video of a mid-term (12 weeks) abortion. His second documentary, ''

Eclipse of Reason ''Eclipse of Reason'' is a 1987 anti-abortion documentary video directed, filmed, and narrated by Bernard Nathanson, with an introduction by Charlton Heston. ''Eclipse of Reason'' is a follow up to Nathanson’s first film ''The Silent Scream'' ...

'', dealt with

late-term abortion Late termination of pregnancy, also referred to as late-term abortion, describes the termination of pregnancy by induced abortion during a late stage of gestation. In this context, ''late'' is not precisely defined, and different medical publicati ...

s. He stated that the numbers he once cited for NARAL concerning the number of deaths linked to illegal abortions were "false figures". Referring to his previous work as an abortion provider and abortion rights activist, he wrote in his 1996 autobiography, ''Hand of God'': "I am one of those who helped usher in this barbaric age." Nathanson developed what he called the "vector theory of life", which states that from the moment of conception, there exists "a self-directed force of life that, if not interrupted, will lead to the birth of a human baby".

Religious conversion

Nathanson grew up

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, and for more than ten years after he became anti-abortion, he described himself as an " atheist". In 1996, he converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

through the efforts of the Rev. C. John McCloskey. In December 1996, Nathanson was baptized by

John Cardinal O'Connor John Joseph O'Connor (January 15, 1920 – May 3, 2000) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of New York from 1984 until his death in 2000, and was made a cardinal in 1985. He previously served as a U. ...

in a private

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...

with a group of friends in New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral. He also received Confirmation and first Communion from the cardinal. When asked why he converted to Roman Catholicism, he stated that "no religion matches the special role for forgiveness that is afforded by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Personal life and death

Nathanson married four times; his first three marriages ended in divorce. He died of cancer in New York on February 21, 2011, at the age of 84. He was survived by his fourth wife Christine Reisner-Nathanson whom he married in the church shortly after his 1996 baptism. He was also survived by his son Joseph, from his second marriage with wife Rosemary.

Works

*''Aborting America'' Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1979.
Free to read at Internet Archive
*'' The Silent Scream'' (1984 documentary)
1979 film free to view on Internet Archive
*''The Abortion Papers: Inside the Abortion Mentality''. New York: Frederick Fell, 1983.
Free to read at Internet Archive
*''

'' (1987 documentary).
''The Hand of God: A Journey from Death to Life by the Abortion Doctor Who Changed His Mind''
Washington, D. C.: Regnery, 1996. . Free to read at Internet Archive.

References

External links

* *
The Silent Scream
', streaming video
Dr Bernard Nathanson: abortion activist and historian
by David Kupelian of

WorldNetDaily ''WND'' (formerly ''WorldNetDaily'') is an American far-right fake news website. It is known for promoting falsehoods and conspiracy theories, including the false claim that former President Barack Obama was not born in the United States. Th ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nathanson, Bernard 1926 births 2011 deaths American abortion providers American anti-abortion activists American people of Jewish descent American Roman Catholics Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Converts to Roman Catholicism from atheism or agnosticism McGill University alumni Writers from New York City