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Women physicians participate in professional dialogue when they publish their research. Discover a selection of books and articles from the NLM Digital Collections about both their scientific research and their experiences in a male-dominated field.
“Illegal Abortion as a Public Health Problem,” American Journal of Public Health and the Nation’s Health, Mary Steichen Calderone, 1960
Dr. Mary Steichen Calderone (1904–1998) worked as the medical director for Planned Parenthood in 1960. In this article, she reported on the findings of a panel of experts who studied the question of illegal abortion in the mid-1950s. She explained that physicians lacked clarity about the legality of abortion, and that income and personal wealth determined women’s access to legal abortions. Dr. Calderone did not identify as “for abortion,” but did support efforts to prevent abortion (e.g., sex education and access to birth control) and to reduce the number of illegal and/or dangerous abortions in the United States. She charged health officials to have the courage to face this emotional, stigmatized procedure with energy and honesty.
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