Antisemitism, Blood Libels and Holocaust Denial: Dr. Henry Morgentaler and the Struggle for Abortion Rights in Canada

Abstract: Dr. Henry Morgentaler was a Holocaust survivor whose civil disobedience, in conjunction with the feminist pro-choice movements, was at the heart of the successful campaign to overturn Canada's abortion law. Throughout decades of struggle, he was the subject of antisemitic invective that commingled Holocaust denial and blood libels against Jewish abortion providers. This article traces the role of antisemitism in opposition to the struggle for abortion rights in Canada and considers how both Morgentaler and his critics invoked the lessons of the Holocaust to justify their advocacy.