Abortion in the United States

Abortion in the United States is a highly charged issue with significant political and ethical debate. In a medical sense, the word abortion refers to any pregnancy that does not end in live birth, although it is sometimes medically defined as miscarriage or induced termination before twenty weeks' gestation. In common parlance, abortion is used to mean "induced abortion" of an embryo or fetus at any point in pregnancy, and this is also how the term is used in a legal sense.

Current legal situation


The current judicial interpretation of the U.S. Constitution regarding abortion in the United States, following the Supreme Court of the United States's 1973 landmark decision in Roe v. Wade, and subsequent companion decisions, is that abortion is legal but may be restricted by the states to varying degrees. States have passed laws to restrict late term abortions, require parental notification for minors, and mandate the disclosure of abortion risk information to patients prior to treatment.

The official report of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, issued in 1983 after extensive hearings on the Human Life Amendment (proposed by Senators Hatch and Eagleton), stated what substantially remains true today:

Thus, the [Judiciary] Committee observes that 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 her pregnancy.

One aspect of the legal abortion regime now in place has been determining when the fetus is "viable" outside the womb as a measure of when the "life" of the fetus is its own (and therefore subject to being protected by the state). In the majority opinion delivered by the court in Roe v. Wade, viability was defined as "potentially able to live outside the woman's womb, albeit with artificial aid. Viability is usually placed at about seven months (28 weeks) but may occur earlier, even at 24 weeks." When the court ruled in 1973, the then-current medical technology suggested that viability could occur as early as 24 weeks. Advances over the past three decades have allowed fetuses that are a few weeks less than 24 weeks old to survive outside the woman's womb. These scientific achievements, while life-saving for premature babies, have made the determination of being "viable" somewhat more complicated. As of 2006, the youngest child to survive a premature birth in the United States was a girl born at the Baptist Hospital of Miami at 21 weeks and 6 days' gestational age.

In comparison to other developed countries, the procedure is more available in the United States in terms of how late the abortion can legally be performed. However, in terms of other aspects such as government funding, privacy for non-adults, or geographical access, some U.S. states are far more restrictive. In France, unless the fetus is severely deformed or the woman's health is at risk, any abortion after the first twelve weeks is illegal. Canada is more permissive, allowing abortion throughout the entire pregnancy, while Australia places heavier restrictions on the procedure. In many countries the right to abortion has been legalized by respective parliaments, while in the U.S. the right to abortion has been deemed a part of a constitutional right to privacy by the Supreme Court.

Because of the split between federal and state law, access to abortion continues to vary somewhat by state. Likewise, some state health programs which poor women rely on for their health care do not cover abortions, whereas other states offer or require such coverage.

The legality of abortion in the United States is frequently a major issue in nomination battles for the U.S. Supreme Court. However, nominees typically remain silent on the issue during their hearings, because it is an issue that may come before them as judges.

Statistics
Because reporting of abortions is not mandatory, statistics are of varying reliability. The Centers For Disease Control (CDC) regularly compiles these statistics.

Number of abortions in United States
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), there were 854,122 legal induced abortions in the US in 2003. 

Abortions and ethnicity
Abortions are much more common among minority women in the U.S. In 2000-2001, the rates among black and Hispanic women were 49 per 1,000 and 33 per 1,000, respectively, vs. 13 per 1,000 among non-Hispanic white women.

Reasons for abortions
In 2000, cases of rape or incest accounted for 1% of abortions. Another study, in 1998, revealed that women reported the following reasons for choosing an abortion:


 * 25.5% Want to postpone childbearing
 * 21.3% Cannot afford a baby
 * 14.1% Has relationship problem or partner does not want pregnancy
 * 12.2% Too young; parent(s) or other(s) object to pregnancy
 * 10.8% Having a child will disrupt education or job
 * 7.9% Want no (more) children
 * 3.3% Risk to fetal health
 * 2.8% Risk to maternal health
 * 2.1% Other

According to a 1987 study that included specific data about late abortions (i.e. abortions “at 16 or more weeks' gestation”), women reported that various reasons contributed to their having a late abortion:


 * 71% Woman didn't recognize she was pregnant or misjudged gestation
 * 48% Woman found it hard to make arrangements for abortion
 * 33% Woman was afraid to tell her partner or parents
 * 24% Woman took time to decide to have an abortion
 * 8% Woman waited for her relationship to change
 * 8% Someone pressured woman not to have abortion
 * 6% Something changed after woman became pregnant
 * 6% Woman didn't know timing is important
 * 5% Woman didn't know she could get an abortion
 * 2% A fetal problem was diagnosed late in pregnancy
 * 11% Other

When women have abortions (in weeks from conception)


Public opinion
Generally speaking, in the United States induced abortions become more controversial the later they are performed into the pregnancy.

By gender, party, and region
A January 2003 CBS News/New York Times examined whether Americans thought abortion should be legal or not, and found variations in opinion which depended upon gender, party affiliation, and the region of the country. The margin of error is +/- 4% for questions answered of the entire sample ("overall" figures) and may be higher for questions asked of subgroups (all other figures).

By trimester of pregnancy
A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll in January 2003 asked about the legality of abortion by trimester, using the question, "Do you think abortion should generally be legal or generally illegal during each of the following stages of pregnancy?" This same question was also asked by Gallup in March 2000 and July 1996.

 

By circumstance or reasons
A January 2007 CBS News poll explored under what circumstances Americans believe abortion should be allowed, asking the question, "What is your personal feeling about abortion?" The results were as follows:

Additional polls

 * Main article: Societal attitudes towards abortion


 * A June 2000 Los Angeles Times survey found that, although 57% of polltakers considered abortion to be "murder", half of that 57% believed in allowing women access to abortion. The survey also found that, overall, 65% of respondents did not believe abortion should be legal after the first trimester, including 72% of women and 58% of men. Further, the survey found that 85% of Americans polled supported abortion in cases of risk to a woman's physical health, 54% if the woman's mental health was at risk, and 66% if a congenital abnormality was detected in the fetus.
 * A July 2002 Public Agenda poll found that 44% of men and 42% of women thought that "abortion should be generally available to those who want it", 34% of men and 35% of women thought that "abortion should be available, but under stricter than limits it is now", and 21% of men and 22% of women thought that "abortion should not be permitted".
 * A January 2003 ABC News/Washington Post poll also examined attitudes towards abortion by gender. In answer to the question, "On the subject of abortion, do you think abortion should be legal in all cases, legal in most cases, illegal in most cases or illegal in all cases?", 25% of women responded that it should be legal in "all cases", 33% that it should be legal in "most cases", 23% that it should be illegal in "most cases", and 17% that it should be illegal in "all cases". 20% of men thought it should be legal in "all cases", 34% legal in "most cases", 27% illegal in "most cases", and 17% illegal in "all cases".
 * Most Americans favor both parental notification as well as parental consent, when a minor seeks an abortion. A Fox News poll in 2005 found that 78% of people favor a notification requirement, and 72% favor a consent requirement.
 * An April 2006 Harris poll on Roe v. Wade, asked, "In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that states laws which made it illegal for a woman to have an abortion up to three months of pregnancy were unconstitutional, and that the decision on whether a woman should have an abortion up to three months of pregnancy should be left to the woman and her doctor to decide. In general, do you favor or oppose this part of the U.S. Supreme Court decision making abortions up to three months of pregnancy legal?", to which 49% of respondents indicated favor while 47% indicated opposition. The Harris organization has concluded from this poll that "49 percent now support Roe vs. Wade." In fact, the poll question only dealt with first trimester abortions, and it is known that the legality of later abortions is more controversial (see above). Pro-life groups assert that the media has often misreported polls on the issue of abortion.
 * Two polls were released in May of 2007 asking Americans "With respect to the abortion issue, would you consider yourself to be pro-choice or pro-life?" May 4th through 6th, a CNN poll found 45% said pro-choice and 50% said pro-life. Within the following week, a Gallup poll found 49% responding pro-choice and 45% pro-life.

Partial birth abortion
A Rasmussen Reports poll four days after the Supreme Court's opinion in Gonzales v. Carhart found that 40% of respondents "knew the ruling allowed states to place some restrictions on specific abortion procedures." Of those who knew of the decision, 56% agreed with the decision and 32% were opposed. An ABC poll from 2003 found that 62% of respondents thought "partial-birth abortion" should be illegal; a similar number of respondents wanted an exception "if it would prevent a serious threat to the woman's health." Additional polls from 2003 found between 47–70% in favor of banning partial-birth abortions and between 25–40% opposed. "Partial-birth abortion" is a non-medical term for a procedure called intact dilation and extraction.

Abortion before Roe
There were few laws on abortion in the United States at the time of independence, except the common law adopted from England, which held abortion to be legally acceptable if occurring before quickening. James Wilson, a framer of the U.S. Constitution, explained as follows:

With consistency, beautiful and undeviating, human life, from its commencement to its close, is protected by the common law. In the contemplation of law, life begins when the infant is first able to stir in the womb. By the law, life is protected not only from immediate destruction, but from every degree of actual violence, and, in some cases, from every degree of danger.

Various anti-abortion statutes began to appear in the 1820s. In 1821, Connecticut passed a statute targeting apothecaries who sold poisons to women for purposes of abortion, and New York made post-quickening abortions a felony and pre-quickening abortions a misdemeanor eight years later. It is sometimes argued that the early American abortion statutes were motivated not by ethical concerns about abortion but by worry about the safety of the procedure; however, this theory is inconsistent with the fact that abortion was punishable regardless of whether any harm befell the pregnant woman, and many of the early statutes punished not only the doctors or abortionists, but also punished the women who hired them. Many early feminists, including Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, argued against abortion for a variety of reasons. The former wrote:

Guilty? Yes, no matter what the motive, love of ease, or a desire to save from suffering the unborn innocent, the woman is awfully guilty who commits the deed. It will burden her conscience in life, it will burden her soul in death; but oh! thrice guilty is he who, for selfish gratification, heedless of her prayers, indifferent to her fate, drove her to the desperation which impels her to the crime.

The criminalization movement accelerated during the 1860s, and by 1900 abortion was largely illegal in every state. Some states did include provisions allowing for abortion in limited circumstances, generally to protect the woman's life or pregnancies due to rape or incest. Abortions continued to occur, however, and increasingly became readily available. Illegal abortions were often unsafe, sometimes resulting in death, as in the case of Gerri Santoro of Connecticut in 1964.

Some activist groups developed their own skills to provide abortions to women who could not obtain them elsewhere. As an example, in Chicago, a group known as "Jane" operated a floating abortion clinic throughout much of the 1960s. Women seeking the procedure would call a designated number and be given instructions on how to find "Jane".

In 1965, following the Supreme Court’s decision in Griswold v. Connecticut declaring a constitutional right to contraceptives, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) issued a controversial medical bulletin declaring that drugs which halted human reproduction between fertilization and implantation were contraceptives instead of abortifacients.

In 1967, Colorado became the first state to legalize abortion in cases of rape, incest, or in which pregnancy would lead to permanent physical disability of the woman. Similar laws were passed in California, Oregon, and North Carolina. In 1970, New York repealed its 1830 law and allowed abortions up to the 24th week of pregnancy on demand. Similar laws were soon passed in Alaska, Hawaii, and Washington. A law in Washington, DC, which allowed abortion to protect the life or health of the woman, was challenged in the Supreme Court in 1971 in United States v. Vuitch. The court upheld the law, deeming that "health" meant "psychological and physical well-being," essentially allowing abortion on demand in Washington, DC. By the end of 1972, 13 states had a law similar to that of Colorado, while Mississippi allowed abortion in cases of rape or incest only and Alabama allowed abortions in cases of the woman's physical health. Thirty-one states still allowed abortion to protect the woman's life only. In order to obtain abortions during this period, women would often travel from a state where abortion was illegal to states where it was legal.

Roe v. Wade
In deciding Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruled that a Texas statute forbidding abortion except when necessary to save the life of the woman was unconstitutional. The Court arrived at its decision by concluding that the issue of abortion and abortion rights falls under the right to privacy. In its opinion it listed several landmark cases where the court had previously found that right implied by the Constitution. The court held that a first-trimester embryo or fetus was not a person under the Constitution, and that a right to privacy existed and included the right to have an abortion. 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 woman's health, but which, as we see in Doe, is broadly defined.)

A central issue in the Roe case (and in the wider abortion debate in general) is whether human life begins at conception, birth, or at some point in between. The Court declined to make an attempt at resolving this issue, noting: "When those trained in the respective disciplines of medicine, philosophy, and theology are unable to arrive at any consensus, the judiciary, at this point in the development of man's knowledge, is not in a position to speculate as to the answer." Instead, it chose to point out that historically, under English and American common law and statutes, "the unborn have never been recognized...as persons in the whole sense" and thus fetuses are not legally entitled to the protection afforded by the right to life specifically enumerated in the Fourteenth Amendment. So rather than asserting that human life begins at any specific point, the court simply declared that the State has a "compelling interest" in protecting "potential life" at the point of viability.

The 1973 Companion case to Roe, Doe v. Bolton, expanded the right to abortion in the United States up to the moment of birth if her doctor "in his best clinical judgment", in light of the patient's age, "physical, emotional, psychological [and] familial" circumstances, finds it "necessary for her physical or mental health". However, this definition of "health" allowed any doctor willing to perform a late-term abortion the legal option to do so, thereby removing the trimester requirements of Roe, although they were not officially overturned until 1992.

Jane Roe and Mary Doe
"Jane Roe" of the landmark Roe v. Wade lawsuit, whose real name is Norma McCorvey, is now a strong Pro-life advocate. McCorvey writes that she never had the abortion and 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. However, attorney Linda Coffee says she doesn't remember McCorvey having any hesitancy about wanting an abortion.

"Mary Doe" of the companion Doe v. Bolton lawsuit, the mother of three whose real name is Sandra Cano, maintains that she never wanted or had an abortion and that the she is "ninety-nine percent certain that [she] did not sign" the affidavit to initiate the suit.

Later judicial decisions
The 1992 case of Planned Parenthood v. Casey overturned Roe's strict trimester formula, but reemphasized the right to abortion as grounded in the general sense of liberty and privacy protected under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution: "If the right of privacy means anything, it is the right of the individual, married or single, to be free from unwarranted governmental intrusion into matters so fundamentally affecting a person as the decision whether to bear or beget a child." Advancements in medical technology meant that a fetus might be considered viable, and thus have some basis of a right to life, at 22 or 23 weeks rather than at the 28 that was more common at the time Roe was decided. For this reason, the old trimester formula was ruled obsolete, with a new focus on viability of the fetus.

The Supreme Court continues to grapple with cases on the subject. On April 18, 2007 it issued a ruling in the case of Gonzales v. Carhart, involving a Federal law entitled the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 which President George W. Bush had signed into law. The United States Supreme Court upheld the 2003 partial birth abortion ban by a narrow majority of 5-4. The law should go into effect by late May 2007. Whoever breaks the law may get up to 2.5 years prison sentence. The Supreme Court voted to uphold the national ban on the procedure opponents call "partial-birth abortion" (called intact dilation and extraction by the medical establishment), marking the first time the court has allowed a ban on any type of abortion since 1973. The swing vote which came from moderate justice Anthony Kennedy was joined by Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and the two recent appointees, Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts.

Legislative developments
Since 1995, led by Congressional Republicans, the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate have moved several times to pass measures banning the procedure of intact dilation and extraction, also commonly known as partial birth abortion. After several long and emotional debates on the issue, such measures passed twice by wide margins, but President Bill Clinton vetoed those bills in April 1996 and October 1997 on the grounds that they did not include health exceptions. Congressional supporters of the bill argue that a health exception would render the bill unenforceable, since the Doe v. Bolton decision defined "health" in vague terms, justifying any motive for obtaining an abortion. Subsequent Congressional attempts at overriding the veto were unsuccessful.

On October 2 2003, with a vote of 281-142, the House again approved a measure banning the procedure, called the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. Through this legislation, a doctor could face up to two years in prison and face civil lawsuits for performing such an abortion. A woman who undergoes the procedure cannot be prosecuted under the measure. The measure contains an exemption to allow the procedure if the woman's life is threatened. On October 21 2003, the United States Senate passed the same bill by a vote of 64-34, with a number of Democrats joining in support. The bill was signed by President George W. Bush on November 5 2003, but a federal judge blocked its enforcement in several states just a few hours after it became public law. The Supreme Court upheld the nationwide ban on the procedure in the case Gonzales v. Carhart on April 18, 2007. The 5-4 ruling said the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act does not conflict with previous Court decisions regarding abortion.

The Unborn Victims of Violence Act, commonly known as "Laci and Conner's Law" was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bush on April 1 2004, allowing two charges to be filed against someone who kills a pregnant woman (one for the woman and the one for the fetus). It specifically bans charges against the woman and/or doctor relating to abortion procedures. Nevertheless, it has generated much controversy among pro-choice advocates. They view it as a potential step in the direction of banning abortion. Various states have also passed similar legislation, on the subject of feticide.

On March 6, 2006, South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds signed into law a pro-life statute which made performing abortions a felony, and that law was subsequently repealed in a November 7, 2006 referendum. On February 27 2006, Mississippi’s House Public Health Committee voted to approve a ban on abortion, and that bill died after the House and Senate failed to agree on compromise legislation. Several states have enacted "trigger laws" which "would take effect if Roe v. Wade is overturned."

Positions of U.S. political parties
Though members of both major political parties come down on either side of the issue, the Republican Party is often seen as being pro-life, since the official party platform recognizes the right of the unborn child to life. Republicans for Choice represents the minority of that party.

The Democratic Party platform considers abortion to be a woman's right, while the group Democrats for Life of America has growing strength within their own party. Chairman Howard Dean has welcomed pro-life Democrats more than previous chairs and DFLA's Pregnant Women Support Act has increasing support. There is also a large disconnect between convention delegates who pass the party platform and rank and file Democrats. In 2006 pollsters found that 74% of Democrats favor the availability of abortion in most circumstances. However, in 2004, forty-three percent (43%) of all Democrats believed that abortion "destroys a human life and is manslaughter." Of Democratic National Convention delegates 64% believed that abortion should be generally available while only 37% of all Democratic voters believed that it should be generally available. The same poll showed that more than half of Democratic voters believed that abortion should be generally available or available with some restrictions, however.

The US Green Party supports abortion as a woman's right.

The US Libertarian Party officially supports abortion as a right, though there is a division on the issue among members. The Party, though, opposes any government funding of abortion.

In the United States the abortion issue has become deeply politicized: in 2002, 84% of state Democratic platforms supported abortion while 88% of state Republican platforms opposed it. This divergence also led to Christian Right organizations like Christian Voice, Christian Coalition and 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 Mexico City Policy prohibited financial support to any overseas organization that performed or promoted abortions. The "Mexico City Policy" was revoked by President Bill Clinton and subsequently reinstated by President George W. Bush.

The official platforms of the major political parties in the US are as follows:

The US Republican Party

 * "As a country, we must keep our pledge to the first guarantee of the Declaration of Independence. That is why we say the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and we endorse legislation to make it clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to unborn children. Our purpose is to have legislative and judicial protection of that right against those who perform abortions. We oppose using public revenues for abortion and will not fund organizations which advocate it. We support the appointment of judges who respect traditional family values and the sanctity of innocent human life."
 * "Ban abortion with Constitutional amendment. We say the unborn child has a fundamental right to life. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and we endorse legislation that the 14th Amendment’s protections apply to unborn children. Our purpose is to have legislative and judicial protection of that right against those who perform abortions. We oppose using public revenues for abortion and will not fund organizations which advocate it. We support the appointment of judges who respect the sanctity of innocent human life."
 * "Alternatives like adoption, instead of punitive action. Our goal is to ensure that women with problem pregnancies have the kind of support, material and otherwise, they need for themselves and for their babies, not to be punitive towards those for whose difficult situation we have only compassion. We oppose abortion, but our pro-life agenda does not include punitive action against women who have an abortion. We salute those who provide alternatives to abortion and offer adoption services."

The US Democratic Party

 * "Support right to choose even if mother cannot pay. Because we believe in the privacy and equality of women, we stand proudly for a woman's right to choose, consistent with Roe v. Wade, and regardless of her ability to pay. We stand firmly against Republican efforts to undermine that right. At the same time, we strongly support family planning and adoption incentives. Abortion should be safe, legal, and rare."
 * "Choice is a fundamental, constitutional right. Democrats stand behind the right of every woman to choose. We believe it is a constitutional liberty. This year’s Supreme Court ruling show us that eliminating a woman’s right to choose is only one justice away. Our goal is to make abortion more rare, not more dangerous. We support contraceptive research, family planning, comprehensive family life education, and policies that support healthy childbearing."

Effects of legalization
Some supporters of legal abortion argue that legalization resulted in a dramatic decrease in women dying from abortion. From 1940 through 1970, deaths of pregnant women during abortion fell from nearly 1,500 to a little over 100. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the number of women who died in 1972 from illegal abortion was thirty-nine (39). In 1960, Dr. Mary Calderone, a former director of Planned Parenthood, said:

Abortion is no longer a dangerous procedure. This applies not just to therapeutic abortions as performed in hospitals but also to so-called illegal abortions as done by physician. In 1957 there were only 260 deaths in the whole country attributed to abortions of any kind....90 percent of all illegal abortions are presently being done by physicians....Whatever trouble arises usually arises from self-induced abortions, which comprise approximately 8 percent, or with the very small percentage that go to some kind of non-medical abortionist....

After 1973, legalization of abortion led to an approximately tenfold increase in the total number of abortions.

The Roe effect is an unproven hypothesis which suggests that since supporters of abortion rights cause the erosion of their own political base by having fewer children, the practice of abortion will eventually lead to the restriction or illegalization of abortion. The legalized abortion and crime effect is another controversial theory that posits legal abortion reduces crime, because unwanted children are more likely to become criminals.

Opposition to abortion
Organizations and individuals opposing legal abortion in the United States typically focus on one of two primary strategies: limitation and prevention. Those focusing on limitation participate in lobbying, rallies, and grassroots efforts to influence the public and lawmakers. The most common prevention strategy is the manning of pregnancy help centers, also called Crisis Pregnancy Centers or CPC's. These centers provide pregnancy tests and present women with information intended to lead them to reject abortion. They also provide practical help which varies according to the organization's means, ranging from help obtaining public assistance to providing housing and medical care.

The most highly visible prevention activity is presence outside abortion facilities. The activity outside the facility can range from simply handing out brochures to attempts to totally block entrance. Typical activity is a mix of protesters holding signs and "sidewalk counselors" attempting to speak to those entering the facility in the hope of dissuading them. One popular method of attempting to dissuade women from entering the facility is the "Chicago method" which consists of obtaining legal complaints against the facility and/or practitioner and giving copies of these complaints to patients and their companions.

Pro-life groups include American Victims of Abortion and Women Exploited By Abortion (WEBA). Recently these women have begun organizing movements such as the Silent No More and Women Deserve Better campaigns. These groups and campaigns focus on rallies, support groups, and grassroots efforts to reach and mobilize others who have had similar experiences.

Abortion is strongly opposed by the Roman Catholic Church and other religious denominations which have become politically active by advocating restrictions on abortion and supporting or opposing candidates for office based on their position on the issue. The focal point of their efforts has been overturning Roe v. Wade. Other religious actions include the erection of Pro-Life memorials on church property, prayer, and fasting.

Pro-life organizations
In the 1980s and 1990s, many opponents of legal abortion turned to speaking with abortion clinics and women seeking abortions. The organization Operation Rescue carried out organized picketings, occupations, and blockades of abortion clinics, in which hundreds of pro-life activists would surround clinics in an attempt to shut them down.

Operation Rescue went bankrupt in the course of defending itself in the case Scheidler v. National Organization for Women, Inc.. Many of its tactics were specifically outlawed by the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, known as the "FACE Act" or "Access Act". This led to a split among pro-life activists, with some continuing to picket and provide sidewalk counseling within the limits of the FACE Act, and a small minority turning to violence. The activities of pro-life activists were moderated following the 2000 election of President George W. Bush, whose outspoken opposition to abortion gave new hope to such political efforts.