The Abortion Controversy

Roe v. Wade.

On 22 January 1973 the Supreme Court of the United States handed down its ruling making abortion legal throughout the country. In a historic decision, Roe v. Wade, the Court drafted a new set of nation-wide guidelines resulting in broadly liberalized abortion laws in the United States. Before the Supreme Court's decision, laws varied from state to state. Some states prohibited all abortions except those to save a mother's life. Others permitted abortions when a doctor found in "his best clinical judgment" that continued pregnancy would threaten the woman's life or health; if the fetus would be likely to be born defective; or if the pregnancy was the result of rape. The Supreme Court emphasized that this medical judgment should include all relevant factors: physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the woman's age.

Limitations.

The Court did not grant women unrestricted access to...

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