While abortion remains a heated topic in U.S. politics, a new survey suggests that the number of doctors willing or able to provide such services is decreasing.
The study, conducted by Duke University and the University of Chicago, sheds new light on American doctors’ sentiments towards abortion. A survey of 1,144 doctors found that only 14 percent of obstetricians and gynecologists are willing to perform the procedure, a steep drop from the 22 percent of doctors who said they would provide these services in 2008.
Paige Johnson, vice president of public affairs at Planned Parenthood of Central North Carolina, said the decline in the amount of doctors willing to perform abortions is unsurprising, especially given recent legislation passed by new Republican majorities in state legislatures.
Johnson noted that the North Carolina state legislature passed one such regulation in July, which requires women to have “state-scripted counseling.” It also requires potential patients to be presented with an ultrasound image of the fetus before deciding whether or not to abort.
She added that she believes that doctors who provide abortions are being unfairly singled out.
“The doctors have been targeted,” Johnson said. “No other kind of physician would have to follow state counseling when trying to talk to their [patients]. If I take my son to the pediatrician, [the doctor] is free to speak directly to me. The real issue is… the harassment of doctors. Doctors who continue [to provide abortions] do [so] because of their unique sense of morality.”
The survey examined a variety of factors—including political orientation, population density and religion—that could influence whether or not a doctor is willing to provide abortions. Physicians in traditionally liberal regions such as the Northeast and West are more likely to provide abortions than their counterparts in conservative strongholds such as the South and Midwest. Similarly, liberals were more likely to carry out the procedure than conservatives.
The survey also took the doctors’ religion into account. While 26.5 percent of non-religious doctors are willing to perform the procedure, only 1.2 to 10.1 percent of their Christian colleagues said they would provide abortions. At 40.2 percent, Jewish doctors were most likely to perform the procedure.
Jeremy Yoskowitz, rabbi and assistant director for Jewish Life at Duke, attributes these results to a number of factors such as geography.
“You would be hard pressed to find as many Jewish doctors in Tuscaloosa as you’d find in New York,” he said.
He added that abortion is a complex issue in Jewish law—or halacha.
“Halacha is neither pro-life nor pro-choice in the conventional way those terms are taken in the U.S.,” he said. “Jewish law views the fetus in most respects as a person, but not fully, in the sense that in a case where a mother’s life is endangered by the fetus, then abortion is permitted and [according to] some [is] even required.”
Dr. Stanford Walker—an OB-GYN at the Brookhaven Memorial Hospital in Patchogue, N.Y.—does not perform abortions due to his Christian beliefs. He said, however, he disagrees with the notion that religion is a major factor in doctors’ decision-making process.
“I can’t say [a large factor for most is] religion,” he said. “It’s more so [an] economic [issue].”
Walker cited the risks such as malpractice suits that doctors might face if they agree to perform abortions.
“A lot of it has to do with a slight change in moral thinking and ethics, but the biggest reason has to do with economics and dealing with your patients and clientele,” he said. “Most of the physicians I have worked with are backing away from that area because it’s sticky for a lot of institutions.”
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