I know this. I practiced medicine beginning in 1959. Abortions were common. Physicians were rarely prosecuted if they were cautious and simply induced a “spontaneous abortion.” Some women with funds went out of state and others used non-credentialled abortionists.
You were right though, the woman having an abortion was seldom prosecuted. Abortion in Minnesota was illegal but the law rested on the premise you suggested. This created a tautology in that abortion was illegal but those securing an abortion were not punished but those doing the abortion were.
The real solution to this is not Draconian laws that people do not obey, but real changes in how we look at abortion and the child. This will mean using all our present technology (sonograms)as well as changing hearts. The “changing hearts” phrase is from President Bush’s speech on this subject. We could make real progress if we wanted to.
This premise of punishing the doctor didn’t work. Those with $ got their abortion, those without $ either found a physician who would begin the abortion by dilating the cervix or they went to a medically untrained abortionist who charged a stiff fee.