Abortion

In England and in the United States in the 19th century severe antiabortion laws were passed.
             Attitudes toward abortion became more liberal in the 20th cent. By the 1970s, abortion had been legalized in most European countries and Japan; in the United States, under a 1973 Supreme Court ruling Roe vs. Wade, abortions are permitted during the first six months of pregnancy. However, in 1977 Congress barred the use of Medicaid funds for abortion except for therapeutic reasons and in certain other specified instances. Several state legislatures passed restrictive abortion laws in hope that the Supreme Court would overturn Roe v. Wade, but in 1992 the court reaffirmed the basic principles of the 1973 decision. .
             From 1995 to 2000 the U.S. Congress repeatedly passed motions to illegalize abortion, but President Bill Clinton vetoed, a bill that would ban a late-term method of abortion called by its critics "partial-birth abortion." Subsequent attempts by many U.S. states to ban this method were contested in the courts, and in 2000 the Supreme Court voided such laws that do not include an exception when the health of the mother is endangered. U.S. opponents of abortion have used more confrontational tactics in recent years in attempts to disrupt the operations of facilities that perform abortions, and some extremists have resorted to bombings and assassination.
             Since the 1960s has been the issue of abortion has been changing from mainly an illegitimate status to a more legitimate one. Several cases have been fought for the right to choose. In 1965 Griswold v. Connecticut upheld the right to privacy and the ban on birth control. Eight years later the Supreme Court ruled that the right of privacy include abortion. In Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court stated that it is the woman's right to have abortion if she chooses. Most arguments against abortion are based on religion and moral prohibitions, defining the sacredness of human life.