aught from previous generations that there was only one correct point of view. Many people have trouble seeing why others who were brought up with the opposite viewpoint cannot simply look at the "facts" and be persuaded to change their minds. Tempers flare when opponents resort to oversimplification because the issue is definitely not simple. According to recent public opinion polls, the majority of Americans (at least 60 percent) hold beliefs that place them somewhere between the two most extreme, or radical, positions on the abortion issue. Although radical groups on both sides of the issue may get the most media attention, most Americans have moderate viewpoints. Individuals in this moderate viewpoint may lean toward pro - life or pro - choice, but they seek to stay at middle ground. Most people feel uncomfortable with abortion and are troubled by many of the reasons given for having one but these same people are also uncomfortable with the governments's interference in a woman's right to choose an abortion, a right granted in 1973 by the landmark Supreme Court decision in Roe vs. Wade. Half the adults surveyed by the New York Times in 1996 supported the availability of safe, legal abortions while only 9 percent felt that no abortions at all should be permitted. Other polls show that many Americans are poorly informed about the abortion issue, and that they drastically underestimate the number of abortions performed each year - approximately 1.6 million, almost one fourth of all pregnancies. "In addition, most Americans assume that many abortions are performed in cases of rape or incest, or in order to save the life of the mother. In reality, only about 1 percent of the 1.6 million abortions are performed for those reasons." (Guernsey, 32) Choice is a central concept of the abortion issue. Many women see the right to choose what happens to their own bodies - and when it happens - as a basic human right. This is especially important in cases in which pregnancy results from rape or incest , or when a teenager's life would be fundamentally altered by having a baby. Other people, however, point out that the fetus has no choice in this matter. Pro - life advocates point to other options, such as adoption, for the unwanted babies of trouble teenagers. The debate is more about choice, however. The issue is also about women and their roles in society, especially as contrasted with those of men. The late 1960's and early 1970's saw the emergence of the women's movement. Women began to demand the same rights and opportunities as men - in the workplace, home, and in government. Abortion soon became one of the central issues in this movement. Why? Some people suspect that the real intent of laws that prohibit abortion is to control female sexuality and to restrict a women's independence. Why , they ask, should legislators and Supreme Court justices, even the president, be allowed to tell women what to do with their own bodies? Laws regarding abortion rights tend to change over time - sometimes gradually, sometimes dramatically. How does this happen? " Primarily these changes occur because men and women with differing stands on abortion get elected to public office or are appointed to the Supreme Court by the president. Elected officials reflect their views in the laws they pass, and justices in the way they interpret laws - in their rulings and decisions." (May & Messer, 98) When a group or and individual challenges a state law, the case can go all the way to the Supreme Court. The Court then makes the final decision. In this system, one person can begin the process that sets legal precedent and affects the whole nation as well. This is exactly what happened on January 22, 1973, when the Supreme Court handed down its decision in the case Roe vs. Wade. For about 100 years preceding the Roe ruling, each state legislature had been solely responsible for deciding when and if abortion was legal; but abortion laws underwent reform during th

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