Changes

An '''illegal abortion''' is an abortion which is performed implicitly or explicitly contrary to the law.

An '''illegal abortion''' is an abortion which is performed implicitly or explicitly contrary to the law.

In the [[United States]], since the famous decision of [[Roe v. Wade]], abortion has been legal. However, many states have began to enact mandates and laws on a local level to prevent abortion. In some states, abortion is illegal after certain time periods, such as [[Nebraska]], and in others, such as [[Oklahoma]], mothers are required to see certain information before they can receive an abortion.

In the [[United States]], since the famous decision of ''[[Roe v. Wade]]'', abortion has been legal. However, many states have began to enact mandates and laws on a local level to prevent abortion. In some states, abortion is illegal after certain time periods, such as [[Nebraska]], and in others, such as [[Oklahoma]], mothers are required to see certain information before they can receive an abortion.

[[Pro-choice]] advocates argue that part of the reason abortions should be made legal is to allow for pregnant women to terminate their pregnancies in safe conditions. This, however, is not a valid basis for legalizing abortions. Abortion is murder, and thus it is illogical to provide the killers of unborn children with a safe place to do it in.

[[Pro-choice]] advocates argue that part of the reason abortions should be made legal is to allow for pregnant women to terminate their pregnancies in safe conditions. This, however, is not a valid basis for legalizing abortions. Abortion is murder, and thus it is illogical to provide the killers of unborn children with a safe place to do it in.

===Illegal Abortion Practitioners===

===Illegal Abortion Practitioners===

Mary Claderone (then Medical Director of [[Planned Parenthood]]) and Nancy Howell Lee (a pro choice researcher) both investigated the practice of criminal abortion in the pre-legalization era. Calderone estimated that "90% of all illegal abortions are presently (1960 - ed) being done by physicians." Calderone further estimated that 8% were self-induced and that 2% were induced by someone other than the woman or a doctor.<ref name="Calderone">Mary Calderone, [http://ajph.aphapublications.org/cgi/reprint/50/7/948.pdf "Illegal abortion as a public health issue,"] ''American Journal of Public Health'', July 1960</ref> Lee estimated that 89% of pre-legalization abortions were done by physicians, an additional 5% by nurses or others with some medical training, and 6% were done by non-medical persons or the woman herself.<ref name="lee">Nancy Howell Lee, ''The Search for an Abortionist'', University of Chicago Press, 1969</ref>

Mary Claderone (then Medical Director of [[Planned Parenthood]]) and Nancy Howell Lee (a [[pro-abortion]] researcher) both investigated the practice of criminal abortion in the pre-legalization era. Calderone estimated that "90% of all illegal abortions are presently (1960 - ed) being done by physicians." Calderone further estimated that 8% were self-induced and that 2% were induced by someone other than the woman or a doctor.<ref name="Calderone">Mary Calderone, [http://ajph.aphapublications.org/cgi/reprint/50/7/948.pdf "Illegal abortion as a public health issue,"] ''American Journal of Public Health'', July 1960</ref> Lee estimated that 89% of pre-legalization abortions were done by physicians, an additional 5% by nurses or others with some medical training, and 6% were done by non-medical persons or the woman herself.<ref name="lee">Nancy Howell Lee, ''The Search for an Abortionist'', University of Chicago Press, 1969</ref>

Calderone's numbers came from "43 men and women from the various disciplines of obstetrics, psychiatry, public health, sociology, forensic medicine, and law and demography."<ref name="Calderone"/> Lee interviewed women who had undergone pre-legalization abortions.<ref name="lee"/> The discrepancy between Lee's and Calderone's breakdowns of non-physician abortions is probably due to sampling errors.

Calderone's numbers came from "43 men and women from the various disciplines of obstetrics, psychiatry, public health, sociology, forensic medicine, and law and demography."<ref name="Calderone"/> Lee interviewed women who had undergone pre-legalization abortions.<ref name="lee"/> The discrepancy between Lee's and Calderone's breakdowns of non-physician abortions is probably due to sampling errors.

===Illegal Abortion Mortality===

===Illegal Abortion Mortality===

Claims that tens of thousands of women lost their lives annually from criminal abortion persist to this day.<ref>[http://www.ourbodiesourselves.org/book/companion.asp?compID=100&id=20 "The Impact of Illegal Abortion" from Abortoin Access Project]</ref>

Claims that tens of thousands of women lost their lives annually from criminal abortion persist to this day.<ref>[http://www.ourbodiesourselves.org/book/companion.asp?compID=100&id=20 "The Impact of Illegal Abortion" from Abortion Access Project]</ref>

The original source of the claim that 5,000 - 10,000 women died from criminal abortions annually in the US was a book -- ''Abortion, Spontaneous and Induced''—published in 1936 by Dr. Frederick Taussig, a leading proponent of legalization of abortion. Taussig calculated an urban abortion rate based on records of a New York City birth control clinic, and a rural abortion rate based on some numbers given to him by some doctors in Iowa. He took a guess at a mortality rate, multiplied by his strangely generated estimate of how many criminal abortions were taking place, and published his numbers.

The original source of the claim that 5,000 - 10,000 women died from criminal abortions annually in the US was a book -- ''Abortion, Spontaneous and Induced''—published in 1936 by Dr. Frederick Taussig, a leading proponent of legalization of abortion. Taussig calculated an urban abortion rate based on records of a New York City birth control clinic, and a rural abortion rate based on some numbers given to him by some doctors in Iowa. He took a guess at a mortality rate, multiplied by his strangely generated estimate of how many criminal abortions were taking place, and published his numbers.