Abortion has been practiced for thousands of years. It was first triggered by fear of “native” Anglo-Saxon women. They believed the population would be dominated by the children of incoming immigrants, who had higher birth rates at the time. In the mid-to-late 1800s, states began legalizing abortion, but antiseptics were unfamiliar, hospitals were not common, and doctors lacked the knowledge to understand the abortion. Over the years, the scientific method began to take over medical practice and technology and increased infection prevention. Abortion procedures have become more effective and much safer. The only problem was that states that were anti-abortion led women who needed abortions to get abortions from illegal providers or to have abortions “behind the scenes.” Around 1.2 million women have illegal abortions each year. Having an abortion was a dangerous and deadly procedure that resulted in debilitation or death. In 1973, there was a defining moment in the history of public health. A Supreme Court case, between Jane Roe and Henry Wade, allowed women to obtain safe and legal abortions from qualified medical practitioners. Roe, a 21-year-old pregnant woman, represented all women who wanted an abortion but could not do so legally or safely. Texas, at the time, was an anti-abortion state unless it was to save a woman's life, which was supported by Wade, a Texas attorney general. The Supreme Court has ruled that Americans have a right to privacy; this includes a woman's right to decide whether she wishes to have children without state interference. Many communities were furious and disagreed with the court's decision to legalize abortion. Soon after, anti-abortionists began working to prevent...... middle of article ......fo/misconce.shtml There is no scientific consensus on when human life. Personality at conception is just a religious belief. Abortion has positive benefits for women's lives and health. The laws never stopped abortion, only made it unsafe for women. Legal abortion helps parents limit their family to the number of children they want and can afford.Abortion ProCon.org. (nd). Retrieved from http://abortion.procon.org The debate over whether or not abortion should be a legal option continues to divide Americans long after the U.S. Supreme Court's 7-2 decision in Roe v. Wade declared the procedure a "fundamental right" on January 22, 1973 Roe v. Wade LII / Legal Information Institute (nd). Retrieved from http://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/410/113Gonzales v. Carhart (nd). http://www.endroe.org/gonzales-v-carhart.aspx