rtion laws. But abortion laws are always debated. This happens inside Congress and inside the United States country in general. That is because supporters of different sides of the subject do not want to settle the issue. "US federal courts continue to tinker with the precise meaning of the reproductive and privacy rights emerging from Griswold, and Roe . . . We readily grant there is no moral consensus on abortion" (Meyers & Woods, 1996).
Some United States Supreme Court case decisions are very important for the abortion issue. The most important was Roe v. Wade (1973). This case changed abortion law in America. It gave to women the legal right to have an abortion. Before 1973, abortion was against the law. After 1973, abortion was not against the law. The case Roe v. Wade is explained by Sullivan. Roe v. Wade established the time of "fetus viability" (Sullivan, 1994, p. 42) at 24 weeks of pregnancy. Fetus viability means when the baby's life begins outside womb. Thus abortion was made legal for the first six months of pregnancy. Roe v. Wade was a Supreme Court Case that gave women the "right to choose" (Conklin, 1997, p. 32). But this did not settle for all time the abortion laws in America.
From 1973 to 1998, "anti-choice legislation" (Conklin, 1997, p. 33) was supported by groups and persons that did not want abortion to be legal: religious groups, religious leaders, and individuals with strong moral convictions against abortion. Morgan says the "social recognition of fetuses, newborns, and young children is embedded within a wider social context" (1989, p. 28). This led to more cases in the Supreme Court. Webster v. Reproductive Health Services (1989) was debated in court and outside court before it was made into law. The law of Webster was that a state in the United States (Missouri) could make rules about "fetus viability" testing before an abortion could happen (Tonn, 1996; Blanchard & Prewitt, 1993). Webster v. Reproducti...