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November 22, 2002
Soul-searching with Vision TV
Loved children don't become murderers: Morgentaler.
CYNTHIA RAMSAY SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
Pro-choice advocate Dr. Henry Morgentaler would like to be remembered
as a man who lived by his convictions and made a contribution to
society despite his own fears and troubles. Morgentaler shares this
hope in an interview on Vision TV's Credo later this month.
In the half-hour episode, Morgentaler talks about his moral, ethical
and spiritual beliefs. Born in Poland in 1923, he describes his
parents as fighters for social justice. His father was the secretary
of a textiles union and his mother helped the family income by sewing
dresses ... "it was a struggle," he says.
When the Nazis captured Poland, his father was taken away and Morgentaler,
his mother and his brother were herded to Auschwitz. While he was
not brought up in a religious household Morgentaler says that, in
the ghetto, he wanted to believe in God, in the hope that this belief
might save him. But, as he saw the people praying being killed and
as he witnessed so many people being "killed for no good reason
at all," he couldn't do it. He describes himself as a secular
humanist.
Morgentaler "wanted to become a benefactor of humankind"
after having survived the Holocaust. He wanted to follow in his
parents' footsteps and in those of people such as Louis Pasteur,
who made valuable contributions to society. This is why he chose
medicine as a career.
Ending up in Montreal, Morgentaler became part of the humanist movement
and, in the late 1960s, started to fight for women's freedom to
choose an abortion. Women came to him for the procedure and he practised
civil disobedience of a law he thought was cruel. In doing so, he
became a hero to many and was reviled by many others, his life being
threatened on more than one occasion.
Morgentaler speaks candidly about his fears, his bouts with depression,
his accomplishments, his greatest joys in life and what he would
still like to achieve at the age of 79.
Credo's Morgentaler interview will air Nov. 25, 10 p.m. ET.
Other shows will feature singer/songwriter Jane Siberry Dec. 2,
journalist Nelofer Pazria Dec. 9 and actor/writer Billy Merasty
Dec. 16.
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