abortion

Throughout history, there have been many topics that have caused disagreements among citizens of the United States. Abortion is one issue that has caused a lot of controversy between Americans. Abortion is the deliberate termination of a pregnancy, which can happen in several different ways depending on how far a woman is in her pregnancy. Many of these methods have been considered unethical by different groups of people. Over the years, court cases, religious groups, and the government have tried to resolve this controversy. However, Americans have so many different opinions on abortion that it makes it hard to resolve. According to a Marist Poll conducted in December 2011, 79% of Americans do not support the current abortion-on-demand policy, saying abortion should be legal only in some circumstances (68%), or illegal in all circumstances (11%) (MCCL). It’s a concern to many Americans because it affects people socially, economically, politically, and religiously in many different ways.
There are many causes to what has sparked controversy within the idea of abortion. United States abortion laws have been changed many times throughout history. In the early 1800s, it was discovered and that “life begins at fertilization and not when the mother 'felt life.'” (Fox News). Because of this, in 1869 the Offenses Against the Persons Act was passed which made any abortion at any time of a pregnancy a felony. As years progressed into the mid 1900s, abortion became a state-regulated issue. Some states like California, and Colorado had legalized abortion. However, many states in the 1970s still stated that abortion was illegal. In the 1970s, the historical case of Roe vs. Wade was brought to the Supreme Court regarding abortion. Roe (who’s real name was Norma McCorvey) was a single, pregnant woman living in Texas who wanted an abortion. She had many reasons for wanting one, but money was a huge issue for her. Abortions were illegal in Texas at the time when she