Duty to the Community

"We two took it upon ourselves over and above our duty to provide that service to the community," Edelin said. "It was not a pleasant thing to do. We had to do them late in the afternoon or on Saturday mornings on our own time, with a skeletion crew in the operating room."

Edelin came to BCH after an internship in Dayton, Ohio, in an air force hospital. He said that he grew to like obstetrics and gynecology while in Dayton.

Before that, Edelin was a medical student at Mahari Medical College in Nashville, Tenn., from 1963 to 1967. Mahari is the nation's only predominately black private medical school, and Edelin, who is black, was class president while there.

Edelin said that since his indictment, he has attempted to said his defense by helping attorney William P. Homans Jr. '41 with scientific investigation for the case.

He said that the national significance his trial may have on abortion law has "thrust" great importance on himself. But Edelin said that it is important to oppose what he said is a national movement opposing legalized abortion.

Still, Edelin said that he is personally worried that he could lose his license or be sent to jail. "A lot of innocent people have been hung," he said. "And I don't want to be one."