PIP: This article provides a brief history of women's efforts to control their reproductive lives through access to abortion in the 20th century. The first section presents a world overview that traces the development of anti-abortion laws and the subsequent liberalization of these laws. Section 2 reviews the frequency of abortions and abortion fees in the US and pays special attention to patient characteristics. The third section delineates the new type of counseling developed for abortion patients; and section 4 describes procedures for first trimester abortion (the history and advantages of vacuum aspiration, the proper setting, the format, complications, and procedural variations. Section 5 examines the practice of menstrual extraction as it occurred in the US from 1970-75 and occurs in Bangladesh. The next two sections cover abortions at 8-14 weeks and dilation and evacuation at 14-20 weeks. Section 8 looks at late mid-trimester abortion techniques and considers issues related to fetal personhood. Section 9 covers the history, current use, and multiple insertions of laminaria tents. Section 10 explains methods of postcoital contraception, and section 11 discusses currently available abortifacients. The next two sections argue that abortion is far safer than childbirth and explore the psychological impact of abortion. The article ends with three sections on recent legal changes, current problems in the delivery of abortion services in the US, and the prognosis for the future.