The Abortion Controversy

Today few debates in American politics and society are as complex as the debate over abortion. The question of abortion encompasses many different issues, from the biological question of when life begins to the social question of the quality of an unwanted child’s life; from the legal question of whether some, not all, abortions should be outlawed to the ethical question of whether a rape victim may be required to bear her attackers child. Because of the debate positions on abortion are usually polarized.
Abortion has been known since ancient times. Women in virtually all cultures have used it as a form of birth control, regardless of whether the culture officially permitted it. Over many centuries, women wishing to terminate a pregnancy have drunk mildly poisonous liquids, rubbed certain herbs on their stomachs, or attempted to pierce their wombs with sharp objects. They may have acted alone or they may have had help. Sometimes these methods of abortion indeed destroy...