Abstract

PIP: "Individual and social attitudes toward abortion are unstable," the author notes, as he reviews the history of such attitudes in the United States and Britain. In both countries abortion was legal in 1800, but had become illegal by 1900, largely due to changing attitudes within the medical profession, including the desire to protect the profession against the activities of non-physicians. In the U.S., religious groups took little interset in the issue until late in the 19th century. Today, years after the legalization of abortion in Britain (1967) and the U.S. (1974), there is a chance that public attitudes will be influenced for a second time by a vocal few, again restricting legal access to abortion. The commercial success of MDs who specialize in abortions is a complicating factor, making it easier for opposition groups to recruit supporters. The abortion debate concerns unprovable interpretations of observable facts; it is an exercise in religious toleration. The most important role of physicians is to help establish a liberal and civilized framework within which colleagues of different persuasions can make free and objective choices regarding the delivery of abortion services.