How common was it before legalization for a woman to find a doctor to perform her abortion?
It was very rare. Most abortions back then were self-induced or done by people with no medical training. It wasn’t unheard-of, but it was unusual. Only about 25% of women were able to find a doctor to perform their abortions. Roughly half of abortion-seeking women were able to find a doctor to do the procedure. About 90% of women found doctors to do their abortions in the pre-legalization days. For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion To email this post to a friend, use the icon below.
