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ing two or three abortions in a row.
They don't consider the doctor who
has to, in fact, remove the fetus with
arms and legs."
Gym-slip Abortions
Familiarity with easy abortion
has bred contempt for fetal life by
many. Schoolgirls aged ll now ap–
pear on abortion Iists. They form a
growing pattem of what are Iightly
terrned "gym-slip pregnancies." In
1971, three abortions were carried
out on girls aged 11, and 529 abor–
tions took place on 14 year olds. All
told, there were 2,296 abortions per–
formed on girls under 16 - about
2% of the total number. There have
even been reports of school girls
aged 13 attending National Health
Service hospita1s for second abor–
tions.
At a recent anti-abortion rally in
London's Hyde Park, general prac–
titioner Dr. Margaret White, herself
a mother of three, said that every
day lO girls under 16 are having
abortions. Schoolchildr en, she
wamed, are being encouraged to
look upon sexual intercourse as the
normal behavior after finishing their
homework.
Addressing a Royal College of
Nursing Conference at Birrningham
in Septernber 1971 , Dr. White stated
that abortion is regarded by rnany
unmarried girls as being
"physica/ly
and mental/y no more serious than
having a tooth out.
"
This is also the
view of the Abortion Law reformers.
Even men are becoming more
abortion minded. Sir John Peel,
gynecologist to the Queen, told an–
other Royal College of Nursing
Conference in Harrogate in March
1973 that easily available abortion
"had the effect of increasing irres–
ponsibility of young men. More and
more men were in favour of abor–
tion to
shed their responsibilities. "
It is time we faced the fact that
premarital sex, with its accom–
panying lack of responsibility, is the
root cause of abortion among un–
married teens. Tbis attitude of irres–
ponsibility carries over into
PLAIN TRUTH August 1974
marriage, where unwanted preg–
nancies needlessly occur.
Professional Reactions
Reaction in tbe medica! and nurs–
ing professions to virtual abortion
on demand has been mixed. To
sorne extent the country is divided
into centers where the approach de–
pends on tbe views of the pre–
dominant gynecologists. Areas like
Glasgow and Birmingham are re–
garded as ultra-conservative, a
thom in tbe fiesh to the progres–
sives. Such places as Aberdeen,
Newcastle and London have a much
more liberal approach.
There is no doubt that abortion
has becorne a profitable business for
sorne. There are many in the medí–
cal profession receiving up to
f
100
(about $240) or more for a ten–
minute operation. Sorne gynecolo–
gists in the London area do little
else. A Ieisurely schedule of say 10
operations a day could net the doc–
tor as much as i5 ,000 (about
$12,000) per week in cash.
Prívate clinics - handling up to
two thirds of the abortion business
- don't exactly have their backs to
the wall either. They charge be–
tween i30 and
MO
per patient daily.
A
Daíly Telegraph Magazine
investi–
gation into the profitability of abor–
tion said that " .. . only a 1itt1e
research at Companies House dis–
closes tbe fact that severa! promi–
nent surgeons, doctors and even
anaesthetists have financia! interests
in (the clinics] ...." This gives sorne
indication of the considerable sums
of money to be made in the abor–
tion business. Clearly, sorne gyne–
cologists are making a financia)
windfall out of abortion.
Conscientious Objection
But what about those doctors who
find the procedure distasteful?
The women's editor of an evening
paper in the London area believes it
is ' 'obscene and immoral" for a
woman to have a chi1d she doesn't
want and states that having un–
wanted babies is happening mainly
because of the "blocking attitude"
of sorne doctors. It is this kind of
pressure that could lead to a further
liberalizing of doctors' altitudes.
Conservative-minded individuals
wiU gradually disappear from the
practice of gyneco1ogy if present
trends continue.
Nurses who find abortions repug–
nant are sometimes in the difficult
position of being expected to assist
at them, despite the fact that the
1967 act legislates for the con–
scientious objector. A Gallup Poli
published in February 1973 showed
tbat two out of three assisting at
these operations find the task dis–
tasteful. More than one in three
would be prepared to quit nursing if
the abortion boom got bigger.
Facts and Emotion
Member of Parliament Leo Abse
equates professional abortionists
with muggers. On the other hand,
the women's editor quoted above
believes it obscene and immoral for
a woman to have a child against her
wish. And there is every shade of
opinion between. What
are
the
rights and wrongs of the matter?
Most will agree that for human
life to have va1ue, for the individual
to have rights, for there to be hon–
esty, peace, security, and trust -
things that the majority all want -
there must be standards of conduct.
One fundamental right recognized
by all has been the right to live.
Human life, says even the lnter–
national Code of Ethics which the
World Medica! Association recog–
nizes, exists from conception.
The new "enlightened," per–
missive society is taking upon itself,
however, the prerogatíve to interfere
with this right. The value of life
becomes relative. In the case of
a pre-term human baby, it may be
its usefulness or wbatever to tbe
family that decides whether it Lives
or not.
Should we, by the same argument
of economic and social utility, also
claim the right to dispose of the
chronically ill , the physically handi-
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