[Abortion--ethical and legal implications important to the physician]

The medical doctor's status within the South African juridical praxis of abortus provocatus is examined. A comparison is drawn between the situation in South Africa and that in the rest of the world. A cursory appraisal of the ontological status of the unborn in the Judeo-Christian tradition delineates ethical norms that do not perforce correspond with the abovementioned juridical praxis. The author attempts to answer the question whether the South African law concerning abortus provocatus is a good law.