Abortion as a Medical Career Choice: Entrepreneurs, Community Physicians, and Others

Abstract

This is a study of physicians in Los Angeles who made the performance of abortions a major or sole component of their practice in the five years (1967-72) subsequent to the legalization of abortion in California. A semistructured interview was used to obtain data on the attitudes, values, and experiences of 42 such physicians. Four distinct career patterns (entrepreneurs, academics, workers, and community physicians) were found. As expected, the physicians tended to be specialists in OB-GYN, concerned about financial rewards, and influenced by past observation of negative consequences of illegal abortions. The major finding is the existence of a subgroup of physicians whose primary identity is businessman or entrepreneur; these fit into the pattern of outsider entrepreneurs. Elements of this pattern were also found among other types of physicians to varying degrees. There is a need to recognize entrepreneurial elements as part of the conceptualization of physicians and other professionals.