John Daniel Crowley was an obstetrician and gynaecologist in Palmerston North, New Zealand. He was born in Greymouth, New Zealand on 18 July 1926, and was educated at St Bede’s College in Christchurch during the Second World War. He then studied medicine at Otago, qualifying in 1952. He went to the UK for specialist training, gaining his FRCS in 1956. On his return to New Zealand he settled in Palmerston North, where he was a hospital obstetrician and gynaecologist. He also had a private practice. For six years he was chairman of the obstetrics unit and was later a member of the Manawatu-Wanganui Area Health Board. He delivered thousands of Palmerston North babies over a 35-year career. He was an active pro-life campaigner and played a key role in establishing several national organisations. He was a founder member of the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child and Doctors for Life, and editor of its *Life* newsletter. He also helped set up Pregnancy Help, which supported women with unwanted pregnancies to avoid abortion. In the 1970s he set up a natural family planning clinic in Palmerston North, which developed into a national organisation. He also established the Christian Family Life Education Group, to teach sex education in Catholic schools. He retired in 1995 and in his retirement focused on end-of-life issues. For 17 years he was a member of the Arohanui Hospice Trust. He campaigned against the 2001 Euthanasia Bill which was voted down in parliament and the Death with Dignity Bill in 2005. He was made a Knight of the Order of St Gregory the Great in 1999. He was also a Knight of the Order of Malta. He was married to Patricia Johannah (née MacLeod) and they had seven children – Paul, John, Kate, Stephen, Tina, Phil and David. He died in Palmerston North on 13 March 2012 at the age of 85.