The Abortion Industry

In Abortion –Facing the Issues, by Susan Terkel, I read “The Abortion Industry”. In this chapter, Terkel talks about how abortion clinics really work and the statistics and economic toll they take. She also shares that an illegal abortion, before abortion was legalized, would normally cost around five hundred dollars and sometimes as much as seventeen hundred. Another thing I found very interesting was about an underground abortion clinic run by feminists during the early 1970’s. During the running of this illegal clinic there were over 150,000 abortions performed each year. Terkel also talks about how many abortion clinics got bombed and received threats from opposing activists. In 1977, The Federal government paid 90 million dollars for approximately 300,000 abortions, which is about three hundred dollars per abortion. Now, the government even has financial aid that you can receive if you want an abortion.

When I read “The Abortion Industry” it was the first time that I had ever heard of an underground abortion clinic. That was very interesting, although I do wish it would’ve said the outcome of it, like if they were caught or anything, but Terkel doesn’t really go in depth about it shuting down or anything. I also had no idea that you could receive financial aid for abortions. And according to Terkel, “Most women who are in need of abortion are poverty stricken (65).” So that’s a very good thing.

Terkel, Susan. Abortion Facing the Issues . New York: Franklin Watts, 1988.