John Daniel (Jack) Bergin, MB ChB NZ MRACP MRCP FRACP FRCP, distinguished neurologist and Catholic pro-life apologist, was born in Stratford, New Zealand on January 17, 1921, to Martin Bernard Bergin and Minni Bergin (nee Hignett). Martin Bergin was a barrister and solicitor in Stratford. Minni was a full-time mother and homemaker who died when Jack was only 12 years old, leaving a large family. Neurology is the branch of medicine that deals with the nervous system and disorders affecting it. ... Pro-life is a term representing a variety of perspectives and activist movements in bioethics. ... Stratford is the main town of the central Taranaki region, aptly named as the Stratford District. Situated directly inland from Mount Taranaki, Stratford is a rural service centre with a 2001 population of 5225. ...

Jack Bergin received his secondary education at St Patrick’s College, Silverstream, and went on to study medicine at Otago University. He graduated with distinction in 1943, then went to serve with the New Zealand Medical Corps at World War II in the Middle East, Italy and Japan. Upon returning to New Zealand he worked in medicine in Dunedin and Wellington Hospitals before travelling to Britain where he was a student and house physician at the Royal Post Graduate Medical School at Hammersmith. He graduated from Hammersmith in 1948, and received a Nuffield Fellowship which led to his appointment to the National Hospital for Nervous Diseases, Queen Square, London. Silverstream is a suburb of Upper Hutt City in the lower North Island of New Zealand. ... medicines, see medication and pharmacology. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... Dunedin (ÅŒtepoti in Maori) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the region of Otago. ... For other uses, see Wellington (disambiguation). ... Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, approximately 5 miles (8km) west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames. ...

In 1956 Bergin returned to New Zealand and succeeded Dr I.M. Allen as the second neurologist to Wellington Hospital. He was the driving force behind the establishment of neuroradiology and clinical neurophysiology, and by 1967 a modern neurological department had been created. Bergin also ran a private practice and for a time was visiting neurologist to Wanganui and Hawera hospitals. He had long standing involvements with the Home of Compassion and Calvary hospitals in Wellington. Neuroradiology is the branch of radiology dealing with the nervous system. ... Clinical neurophysiology is a medical speciality that studies the central and peripheral nervous systems through the recording of bioelectrical activity, whether spontaneous or stimulated. ... Wanganui   is an urban area and district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. ... Location within New Zealand The water tower at Hawera With a population of 11,000 Hawera is the second largest town in the Taranaki region of New Zealands North Island. ...

Bergin was a member of the New Zealand Epilepsy Association council, and assisted neurological research via his participation in the Scientific Advisory Committee of the New Zealand Neurological Association which he helped found the Neurological Association of New Zealand in 1971. He was also a Foundation Member of the Australasian Association of Neurologists. He became a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians in 1958, and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (London) in 1969. College building by Denys Lasdun The Royal College of Physicians of London is the oldest medical institution in England was founded in 1518 and is one of the most active of all medical professional organisations. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ...

Bergin was devoutly committed to the Catholic faith, described by Haas and Hornabrook as "able to articulate, intellectualise, and simplify aspects of Catholicism, and his arguments were always persuasive".[1] For over forty years he was an active member of the Catholic Doctors’ Guild of St Luke, SS Cosmas, & Damian which he also served as Master. He was a strong advocate of the rights of the unborn child, and was active in founding the Society for Protection of the Unborn Child.[2] He and his wife were the first New Zealanders appointed by Pope John Paul II to the Pontifical Council for the Family in 1982, and in 1990 the Pope recognised Bergin’s considerable contributions and made him a Papal Knight of the Order of St. Gregory the Great. Pro-life is a term representing a variety of perspectives and activist movements in bioethics. ... Coat of Arms of Pope John Paul II. The Letter M is for Mary, the mother of Jesus, to whom he held strong devotion Pope John Paul II (Latin: , Italian: Giovanni Paolo II) born   [] (May 18, 1920, Wadowice, Poland – April 2, 2005, Vatican City) reigned as Pope of the Catholic... The Pontifical Council for the Family is part of the Curia of the Roman Catholic Church. ... The Order of the Knights of St. ...

Bergin was married to Lorna Stark and had eight children, two of whom have become doctors, and one of whom is also a neurologist. He died on July 22, 1995, aged 74.

References

• The Royal Australian College of Physicians College Roll: Dr. John Daniel Bergin
• Marilyn Pryor: The Right to Live; Chapter 21