Nov 10
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The Toronto Star – November 20, 2010
A young abortion doctor’s dilemma
By Megan Ogilvie
Dr. Evan James never wavered in his determination to become an abortion provider. His belief that women had the right to do what they wanted with their bodies was steadfast during his medical training in London, Ont. It solidified further after he spent a month learning how to perform abortions at the Morgentaler Clinic in Toronto. He found that he enjoyed the work and was not put off by a woman’s tears or the tissue he extracted from her womb. Nor did he fear the violence – bomb threats, stabbings, sniper shootings – that for years has stalked abortion doctors in North America.
Only when his personal life was thrust up against his professional beliefs was his firm stance on abortion shaken. James and his partner desperately wanted to adopt a child. Suddenly, there were days when he found it hard to commit to being an abortion doctor. For the first time, he began to see shades of grey instead of just black and white. The 28-year-old obstetrics resident in Hamilton was finding out, like the generation of doctors who came before him, that being an abortion provider means accepting a life unlike any other in medicine.
More than 20 years since abortion became legal in Canada, the procedure remains among the most common for reproductive-age women. About one in four women will have one in her lifetime. Yet physicians who provide abortions continue to face a host of obstacles. They are proud of what they do and say their work is immensely gratifying. Yet, most do not – and will not – talk openly about their profession, one that even medical schools tend to keep hidden. Many believe they are saving women’s lives by offering them a safe way to terminate an unwanted or dangerous pregnancy. But they also know being a provider may put their own safety at risk. They must also find ways to reckon with the ethical and personal dilemmas that can accompany their work.
