The new abortion providers

In 1973, hospitals made up 80 percent of the country’s abortion facilities. By 1981, however, clinics outnumbered hospitals, and 15 years later, 90 percent of the abortions in the U.S. were performed at clinics. The American Medical Association did not maintain standards of care for the procedure. Hospitals didn’t shelter them in their wings. Being a pro-choice doctor came to mean referring your patients to a clinic rather than doing abortions in your own office. This was never the feminist plan. . . .

For all the anxiety about being in the spotlight, the surprising truth is that however embattled abortion remains in America at large, at the top of academic medicine, the structure built to support it looks secure. David Grimes . . . surveys the terrain . . . and says with satisfaction: “A few things have happened to turn it all around. Thanks to the donor, I think it’s all here to stay.” NY Times

Editor: "The donor" is the Susan Thomas Buffet Foundation, and the grants are given through the Kenneth J. Ryan Residency Training Program, which gives medical schools two or three years of seed money for abortion training for OB-GYN residents.