Hmmmm....Does Mrs. Goldberg's repetition of the "Back-alley, coat-hanger Abortion" hold true in the number that she claims ["...so many....", she said].
Personally, I believe that there were such scenarios before the horrible Roe vs. Wade. But I sincerely doubt that it was an epidemic in the extent that Whoopi Goldberg claims.
There are still botched abortions that result in deaths even in “nice clean abortuaries”. It is why parents have a right to give consent to the procedure for their minor daughters.