abortionist

English

Etymology

From abortion +‎ -ist.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /əˈbɔɹ.ʃə.nɪst/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

abortionist (plural abortionists)

1. (now sometimes offensive) A person who performs abortions, especially illegally or secretly. [from 1844]

   Synonyms: (rare) aborter, (historical, euphemistic) angel maker, (UK) jack-knife barber

   • 1844 March 26, New-York Daily Tribune:

     Mad. Restell, the celebrated Abortionist [is arrested].

   • 1848 October 7, “Morals and Murder – the Case of Eliza Wilson”, in The Medical Times‎^[1], volume 18, number 471, London, page 373:

     The quack abortionist, with “a little knowledge,” impudently, remorselessly, and secretly employs his craft for filthy lucre’s sake, perpetrating one crime to conceal another, at which science and charity blush.

   • 1998, J. David Bleich, Bioethical Dilemmas: A Jewish Perspective, volume 1, Hoboken, New Jersey: KTAV Publishing House, →ISBN, 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, 3rd edition, Berkeley, California: University of California Press, →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.

   • 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, 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.

   • 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. (chiefly derogatory) A person who advocates for or supports the legality of abortion.

   Synonyms: pro-abortionist, pro-choicer, (derogatory) pro-deather

   Antonyms: anti-abortionist, (derogatory) anti-choicer, (derogatory) fetus fetishist, (derogatory) forced-birther, pro-lifer, right-to-lifer

Derived terms

• anti-abortionist
• pro-abortionist

Related terms

• abortionism

Translations

person who performs abortions — see also angel maker

• Dutch: aborteur (nl) m, aborteuse (nl) f
• Esperanto: abortigisto (♂(♀)), virabortigisto (explicitly ♂), abortigistino (explicitly ♀), geabortigistoj pl (♂♀)
• French: avorteur (fr) m, avorteuse (fr) f, médecin avorteur m
• German: Abtreiber m, Abtreiberin f, Abtreibungsarzt m (physician), Abtreibungsärztin f (physician), Abtreibungshelfer m (assistant), Abtreibungshelferin f (assistant)
• Hungarian: abortőr (hu) (rare)
• Polish: aborter (pl) m, aborcjonista (pl) m, aborcjonistka (pl) f
• Spanish: abortista (es) m or f, abortero m, abortera f

person who advocates for or supports the legality of abortion

• 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. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

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

References

• “abortionist, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, December 2021.

Anagrams

• birotations