Abortion in the United States

The prevailing opinion in the United States, following the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade, is that life does not begin at conception but rather at some point prior to the third trimester of pregnancy and that, moreover, a fetus's right to life and a woman's right to control her body are both valid. Consequently, U.S. courts have upheld a woman's right to abortion, but this right is limited and conditional.

The Supreme Court of the United States, in the decision of Roe v. Wade, has declared that the issue of abortion and abortion rights falls under the rubric of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution as a matter of a person's right to privacy[?] in his or her person. Hence, the court holds that a first-trimester embryo or fetus carried by a woman falls within her right to determine for herself, privately, what is to occur with her own body. The court further ruled that the state could intervene to restrict abortion in the second trimester of development, and could outlaw it altogether in the third trimester (about 4/5 of U.S. states forbid third-trimester abortion except as necessary for the mother's health). A prime aim of abortion opponents in the United States is to have Roe v. Wade overturned.

Currently in the United States 50% of all abortions are performed in the first eight weeks of pregnancy and 89% in the first twelve weeks. There were 21.3 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 in the United States in 2001-02; the highest rate was 29.3 per 1,000 in 1980-81.

The "Jane Roe" of the landmark Roe v. Wade lawsuit, whose real name is Norma McCorvey, later became a strong advocate of the pro-life movement. McCorvey claims she became the "pawn" of two young and ambitious lawyers who were looking for a plaintiff who they could use to challenge the Texas state law prohibiting abortion.

In the United States the issue has become deeply politicized: in 2002, 84% of state Democratic platforms supported abortion while 88% of state Republican platforms opposed it. This divergence has also led to the Moral Majority having an increasingly strong role in the Republican party. This opposition has been extended under the Foreign Assistance Act: in 1973 Jesse Helms introduced an amendment banning the use of aid money to promote abortion overseas, and in 1984 the so-called "Mexico City policy" prohibited financial support to any overseas organization that performed or promoted abortions. The "Mexico City policy" was revoked by Bill Clinton only to be reinstated by George W. Bush. Several items of legislation impacting on abortion, including the Child Custody Protection Bill and the Unborn Victims of Violence Bill, are awaiting Congressional debate (February 2003).

In March 2003, the United States Senate voted to ban intact dilation and extraction abortions, known by anti-abortion campaigners as "partial-birth abortions." The bill was passed by 65 votes to 32, with a number of Democrats joining in support.

Intact dilation and extraction predominantly involves cases of hydrocephalus, in which the head of the foetus may expand to a size of up to 250% of the radius of an adult skull. Birth to such a foetus proves to be fatal for women.

Hydrocephalus is usually not discovered until the second trimester, hence it is a late-term abortion.

The 2- to 3-day procedure involves: (1) cervix dilation, (2) feet-first delivery of the foetus (3) exposure of the foetus's head, (4) drainage of the fluid from the brain area through a vacuum tube, (5) delivery of the foetus.