Abortion

The Supreme Court's 1992 ruling in the Pennsylvania abortion case has perpetuated the controversy ignited nearly two decades ago by "Roe V. Wade", the 1973 decision establishing an inherent right of privacy for women who seek the abortion option. The fundamental issues raised by abortion continue to tear at the fabric of US politics, law, medicine, religion and education. In recent years, the conflict between freedom-of-choice advocates and right-to-life supporters has grown more heated and more complex. As the abortion debate intensifies, "Abortion: Choice and Conflict" explores the issues that surround this divisive topic and the questions they provoke: How have Supreme Court decisions of recent years eroded "Roe v. Wade"? How has the abortion issue affected the Supreme Court nomination process? What are the controversies surrounding the Bush administration's ban on abortion counselling in federally funded clinics? How has abortion been used as a political campaign issue? Do the methods of right-to-life groups such as "Operation Rescue" infringe on other constitutional rights?
What legislative initiatives have been undertaken on the state and local level, and what are their implications? How has abortion policy figured in US foreign aid commitments? Are parental notification rules desirable, and how do they affect youth? Should abortion be explained in the schools as a part of a sex education curriculum? What role does religion play in the nation's perception of abortion? What are the social ramifications of new birth technologies? Should the US government permit medical research using the fetal tissues obtained through abortion? In "Abortion: Choice and Conflict", the nation's leading newspapers, editorial writers and cartoonists examine the variety of searing issues stemming from the fundamental conflict over abortion.