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Denes M. In Necessity and Sorrow: Life and Death in an Abortion Hospital, New York: Basic Books, 1976.
IN JANUARY, 1973 THE SUPREME COURT ruled, by a seven-to-two vote, to legalize abortion in the United States during the first three months of pregnancy. In so doing, it left the choice of abortion a matter for the pregnant woman and her conscience. A New York Times editorial on the decision reminds us that "the Court has performed a useful historical function by recalling that the spur for the initial adoption of state laws banning abortion nearly a century ago was the great risk of maternal death involved in the surgical procedures then used. Now the risk arises out of perpetuating such archaic statutory prohibitions. The effect of these laws has been to force women, especially the young and the poor, to resort to abortion mills instead of expert hospital care when they are determined not to have an unwanted child."
Two and a half years before the Supreme Court ruling, in July 1970, the New York State Legislature passed the nation's first law allowing abortion up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. Free-standing clinics were licensed to perform early abortions and as many as 3, 000 were done in a month at one of the busiest facilities. Women poured in from every part of the United States paying about $150 for the service. As consultant to this clinic I was impressed with the physical and psychological supervision the women received. Abortion counseling was offered to each patient to determine if her decision to terminate her pregnancy was firm. The counselors then followed the patients through the various medical procedures, offering them whatever psychological support seemed necessary. On the day of the abortion the thrust was to allay anxiety.
Following the Supreme Court decision some of the free-standing