In the former Soviet Union abortion was legalized in 1917 after the revolution, then it was restricted in the 1930s due to population concerns, then it was legalized again in the mid 1950s. A strong and worldwide feminist movement during the 1960s heightened the pressure to legalize abortion. In the U.S. this trend culminated in a 1973 Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade that made abortion legal during the early months on pregnancy. (Americana, 3) .
In the early American colonies abortions were permitted. I was not until the mid-1800s that abortion became a widely debated subject. A campaign led by physicians was seeking to maintain professional control over the practice, leading to a strict legal regulation. For almost 100 years after, in most U.S. jurisdictions, abortion was illegal unless performed by a physician. (Americana, 4).
In the case of Roe v. Wade the decision allowed states to pass regulations affecting second-trimester abortions and to prohibit third-trimester abortions. In 1989 the Supreme Court permitted further regulation at the state level. The case was Webster v. Reproductive Services. The decision upheld a Missouri law prohibiting the performance of abortions by public employees or in taxpayer-supported facilities. In 1991 a courts decision in the case of Rust v. Sullivan upheld federal regulations forbidding abortion counseling in federally funded clinics. (Americana, 5).
The Partial-Birth Abortion Act of 1997 was introduced to the U.S. Congress in an attempt to outlaw abortions in late pregnancy. The bill defined partial-birth abortion as the partial vaginal delivery of a living fetus, which is then killed before delivery is completed. As of 1999, however, a ban on the procedure had failed to become federal law. (Americana, 4).
Supporters as well as opponents of abortion rights support their arguments with what they consider to be basic moral principles. "Pro-Choice" supporters declare that a woman has a right to determine if she wants to continue a pregnancy or not.