abortionist

English

Etymology

abortion +‎ -ist. First attested in 1872.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /əˈbɔɹ.ʃə.nɪst/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

Noun

abortionist (plural abortionists)

1. (crime, medicine, now often historical) One who performs an illegal abortion in a non-medical setting (a back street, a hotel room, etc).

   Synonym: (historical, euphemism) angel maker

   • 2005, Paul Krassner, One Hand Jerking: Reports from an Investigative Satirist, →ISBN, page 24:

     In 1962, when abortion was still illegal, I published an anonymous interview with Dr. Robert Spencer, a humane abortionist who was known as “The Saint.”

   • 2009-2010, Roger Ebert, Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2010, review of 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, page 146:

     Then she asks her to go first to meet the abortionist. Then she neglects to make a reservation at the hotel the abortionist specifies. That almost sinks the arrangement: The abortionist has experience suggesting that hotel will be a safe venue, and suspects he may be set up for a police trap.

2. (politics, chiefly in anti-abortion discourse, derogatory) An abortion provider; one who performs a legal abortion.
   • 1998, J. David Bleich, Bioethical Dilemmas: A Jewish Perspective, volume 1, page 277:

     Such a fetus is perfectly viable save for the act of the abortionist.

   • 2003, Mark Juergensmeyer, Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence, →ISBN, page 24:

     According to Bray, "there is a difference between taking a retired abortionist and executing him, and killing a practicing abortionist who is regularly killing babies." The first act is in Bray's view retributive, the second defensive.

   • 2009, Dinesh D'Souza, Letters to a Young Conservative, →ISBN, page 191:

     […] a gruesome procedure in which the abortionist dismembers a child who could survive outside the womb.

3. (politics, in anti-abortion discourse, offensive) One who favors abortion being legal. [since the late 19^th century]

Antonyms

• (one who favours abortion being legal): anti-abortionist (one who opposes abortion being legal)

Translations

one who performs an illegal (backstreet) abortion

• Czech: andělíčkářka (cs) f (historical, women only)
• Dutch: engeltjesmaker m, engeltjesmaakster (nl) f
• French: faiseur d'anges (fr) m, faiseuse d'anges (fr) f

• German: Engelmacher (de) m, (euphemistic) (backstreet) Engelmacherin (de) f
• Spanish: abortista (es) m or f, abortero m, abortera f
• Swedish: änglamakare c, änglamakerska c

one who performs a legal abortion

• Dutch: aborteur (nl) m, aborteuse (nl) f
• Esperanto: abortigisto (♂(♀)), virabortigisto (explicitly ♂), abortigistino (explicitly ♀), geabortigistoj pl (♂♀)

• French: médecin avorteur m, avorteur (fr) m, avorteuse (fr) f
• Polish: aborter (pl) m, aborcjonista (pl) m, aborcjonistka (pl) f
• Spanish: abortista (es) m or f, abortero m, abortera f

one who favors abortion being legal

• Dutch: voorstander van abortus m
• German: Abtreibungsbefürworter m, Abtreibungsbefürworterin f

• Portuguese: abortista (pt) m or f
• Spanish: abortista (es) m or f

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• German: ^{(please verify)} Abtreiber m, ^{(please verify)} Abtreiberin f, ^{(please verify)} Abtreibungsarzt m, ^{(please verify)} Abtreibungsärztin f, ^{(please verify)} abtreibender Arzt m, ^{(please verify)} abtreibende Ärztin f, ^{(please verify)} Abtreibungshelfer m, ^{(please verify)} Abtreibungshelferin f
• Polish: aborter (pl) m, aborcjonista (pl) m, aborcjonistka (pl) f
• Turkish: ^{(please verify)} kürtajcı (tr)

• Vietnamese: ^{(please verify)} người phá thai

Anagrams

• birotations