Dr. Bernard Nathanson, a physician from New York who helped to found the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (now known as NARAL Pro-Choice America) and became an active pro-life supporter, recently passed away at age 84.
Dr. Nathanson had estimated he had performed 75,000 abortions in his career, and, at one time, he put a lot of effort into promoting the legalization of abortion.
One of the happenings that led to him reconsidering his position on abortion was the development of ultrasound. In 1984, he directed and narrated The Silent Scream, a documentary that shows an abortion from the perspective of ultrasound.
After his change of heart, he became active on a number of fronts in the pro-life movement. included in his efforts were books he wrote, including Aborting America (Garden City: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1979) and The Hand of God: A Journey from Death to Life by the Abortion Doctor Who Changed His Mind (Washington: Regnery Publishing, Inc., 1996).
Dr. Nathanson has been quoted as saying that abortion is "the most atrocious holocaust in the history of the United States."
Through the efforts of Rev. C. John McCloskey (an Opus Dei priest), he converted to Roman Catholicism and, in December 1996, was baptized by Cardinal John O'Connor in Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, New York.
May Dr. Nathanson rest in peace.
Related media reports and commentary:
Wall Street Journal: Remembrances: Onetime Abortionist Who Joined Other Side (22 FEB 11)
LifeNews: Bernard Nathanson Passes Away, Was Early Abortion Muckraker (21 FEB 11)
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