Illegal operation (euphemism)

Illegal operation (sometimes criminal operation or illegal surgery) was a widely understood euphemism for induced abortion used in the 19th and 20th centuries in Anglophone countries including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. "Performing an illegal operation" could also be a criminal charge and/or the listed cause for the revocation of the medical license of an abortion provider. The term was one of a number of euphemisms pertaining to sex, pregnancy, and childbirth.