Abortion is the deliberate killing of a child before birth. It's that simple. Abortion does not simply terminate a pregnancy; it ends the life of a distinct, complete human being.

A human fetus is just as much a member of the human race as a 6-month-old baby, a teenager, an adult, or a senior citizen. Human life begins at the beginning--when the sperm cell and the egg cell, each bearing 23 chromosomes, unite to form one cell with 46 chromosomes. Every human being can trace his or her existence all the way back to one cell. 

What the Supreme Court Said about Abortion

Abortion takes the lives of 1.4 million children every year. Even today, however, most Americans do not realize just what the law says about abortion.

In 1973, the United States Supreme Court overturned all existing abortion laws in the country in the sweeping decisions known as Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton. These rulings stated that:

• Human offspring are not persons "in the whole sense" at any time before birth.
• During the first three months of pregnancy, no state may make laws regulating abortion, except, perhaps, to provide that abortions be done by licensed physicians.
• After three months and until "viability" (which was not precisely defined but was referred to as being approximately 6 months), states could only make abortion laws aimed at safeguarding the health of the mother.
• From viability until the end of pregnancy, states could not prevent an abortion performed "to preserve the life or health of the mother."

The Court then defined "health" as "all factors--physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the woman's age--relevant to the well-being of the patient."

Thus, abortion is legal for any reason--including emotional or convenience reasons--even during the last stage of pregnancy.

On July 1, 1976, the Supreme Court extended its original decision and ruled that:

• Abortions may be performed on minor daughters without the knowledge of their parents.
• Women (whether married or unmarried) may obtain abortions without the knowledge or consent of the baby's father.
  In 1982, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee concluded in an official report after extensive hearings:

No significant legal barriers of any kind whatsoever exist today in the United States for a woman to obtain an abortion for any reason during any stage of pregnancy."