The Secret Doctors

There can be no doubt there were lots of abortions when they were illegal. The number was not small.

The link includes detailed statements from two doctors who performed abortion before Roe v Wade. One who performed them in a state where it was illegal thought, back then, the large numbers of women who came into hospitals with infections had some unknown cause. After abortions were illegal, it became clear the cause was poorly performed abortions. 

He wrote that he was not the only one doing illegal abortions. Midwives, nurses and others who knew at least something about the practice were doing them as well. Many, however, did not know how to prevent infections. He said there were so many illegal abortions he believes the statistics that the number remains quite constant whether legal or not. The only difference is illegal abortions are not regulated and problems show up. 

In his illegal practice, referrals often came through ministers. It is his opinion the nation-wide availability of illegal abortions (it was legal in some states) depended on ministers who kept secrets and knew phone numbers. The ministers would set up appointments for young women. Since the ministers were big in the underground network, they knew they must protect the doctor. Thus, if there were complications, the woman would call the minister. The minister, however, would not refer the woman back to the abortion doctor, that would be too risky. Someone else had to be called.

This doctor had a broader practice when he started doing abortions. There was so much demand he had to abandon his beginning practice and do abortions full time. This illustrates the inability to stop abortions, at least as things stool before Roe.

The second doctor is younger and dealt with the years just before Roe. He said, as I have reported here before, every large hospital had a "septic ward" for woman with infections. He learned it was possible to induce and abortion by placing a small object, most anything would work, in the uterus where infection would start. When the woman developed a fever she would go to a hospital. He said it was a brutal but 100% effective way to end a pregnancy. 

His view is the country really did not value women. It still does not.