That is, the mother is given substances which puts her into labor and delivers the fetus as she would a full-term baby. About 40 percent of Americans believe that abortion should remain legal and 40 percent believe it should be banned except when the pregnancy threatens the life of the mother or is the result of rape or incest. Also 15 percent believe it should be illegal in all cases. .
Still others believe that abortion is a women's own right and choice. In 1973, the Roe v. Wade decision proved this by recognizing abortion as a fundamental constitutional right and made it legal in all states. The law now permits abortion at the request of the women without any restrictions in the first trimester and some restrictions in the second trimester solely to protect the women's health. The National Abortion Right Act League argues that without legal abortion women would be denied their constitutional right of privacy and liberty. The women's right to her own body subordinates those of the fetus and the U.S. Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade argued that the women's "right to privacy" overruled the fetus's right to life. If abortion was illegal it would force poor women to bear and raise children they can't afford to bring up. There would be a number of unsafe abortions in back allies and it would also force women to give up their dreams and stay home to bring up babies. Worst of all, it would condemn victims of rape and incest to carry and nurture the offspring of their rapist. Abortion is necessary for women to have control over their own bodies and life. One activist said, "If I hadn't had that abortion my life would have been a disaster. I wouldn't have made it to medical school. I was married at that point to a very ill man and it would have been terrible to have to have my baby. People who need abortions are in some kind of turmoil and it's really a life-saving thing." To ignore the rights of others is selfish and injustice.