Coat-Hangers and Back-Alley Abortions
Joanne Byfield

"Keep Abortion Safe, Keep It Legal". That's the slogan. "Tens of thousands of women died each year when abortion was illegal. Making abortion legal makes it safe." That's the claim. But is it true? I think not. Here's why.

First, the actual number of deaths of women from illegal abortions was never in the tens of thousands. Abortion was legalized in the US in 1973. According to the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control, in the decades prior to legalization, the number of deaths of women from illegal abortions in the US was as follows:

1940 - 1,682 deaths
1950 - 316 deaths
1962 - 205 deaths
1970 - 128 deaths
("Abortion Surveillance", November 1980)

The numbers were dramatically declining, even before legalization. Why? It had nothing to do with the legalization of abortion which hadn't occured. It had to do with the emergence of antibiotics (sulfa and penicillin) in the 1940s and 1950s and safer abortion techniques (suction curette) in the 1960s. Both combined to make even illegal abortions relatively safe for the mother. Abortion is still a serious medical operation and about 20-30 US women continue to die each year from abortion, even though it is now legal. Technology, not legalization, made and continues to make even illegal abortions relatively safe for the mother.

Second, the claim that "tens of thousands" of women died each year from abortion was fabricated. That admission comes from Dr. Bernard Nathanson, one of the founders of NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League). In the late 1970s, he became convinced that he was killing innocent human beings and switched sides. Incidentally, you'll never hear of a pro-life supporter switching sides. At that time, he admitted that he and his NARAL colleagues pulled that number "out of thin air". We knew it "was a powerful and compelling lie and we used it shamelessly." Aborting America (New York, Doubleday, 1979) p.193. They used that lie to legalize abortion.

Third, the so-called "back alley" abortions were really nothing more than "back office" abortions. They were done in the back offices of doctors. That admission comes from Mary Calderone, a former President of Planned Parenthood. In 1960, she admitted "90% of all illegal abortions are presently done by physicians". Mary Calderone, "Illegal Abortion as a Public Health Problem", American Journal of Health Volume 50 (July 1960) p.169. When abortion became legal, back office abortions became front office abortions. Legalization brought no significant improvement in safety for the woman.

Consequently, making abortion illegal once again would not make it unsafe. Illegal abortions would continue to be done, as before by doctors and by others, using antibiotics and suction curette, not coat hangers. Abortion would remain safe but it would become rare. And that would be a good thing. Because however safe abortion might be for the woman, it is always fatal for the unborn child.