Although Smith does not support mandatory abortion training she believes that the subject of abortion should be covered in medical schools. Abortion is something that one and a half million women electively participate in annually. Smith explained that many women have problems during pregnancy that require doctors to use the same procedures that would be used in an abortion. Also, some illnesses require separating the mother from her child late in pregnancy by removing the baby from the womb. Abortion, however, is purely elective and requires dismemberment of the fetus, which may be technically difficult.
Patients naturally assume that their abortion providers are trained ob-gyns or surgeons.
However, Smith estimates that 90 percent of ob-gyns do not provide abortions as a routine part of their practice. Only rarely are surgeons trained as abortion providers. Abortion advocates hope that if more doctors are required to perform abortions during their residencies they will choose to continue performing abortions after residency, thus replacing retiring abortionists. Of course, some doctors do not need to be coerced into performing abortions. In fact, there are doctors who are willing and eager to provide abortions.