Originally published in 1986 Abortion and the Private Practice of Medicine was the first book to look at abortion from the perspective of physicians in private practice. Jonathan B. Imber spent two years observing and interviewing all twenty-six of the obstetrician-gynecologists in âœDaletonâ a city that did not have an abortion clinic. The decision as to whether when and how to perform abortions was therefore essentially up to the individual doctor. Imber begins the volume with a historical survey of medical views on abortion and the medical professionâs response to the legalization of abortion in the United States. Quoting extensively from his interviews he looks at various characteristics of doctors that may affect their professional opinion on abortion: their age gender religious background and length of residence in the community; the nature of their training and prior experience; and the setting of the practice (whether group or solo). Imber found that the physiciansâ reasons for agreeing or refusing to perform abortions revealed considerable differences of opinion about how they construe their responsibilities. Language: English