Despite the fact abortion is, and always will be, a heavily debated issue, both sides can agree on one thing - each can curb unwanted pregnancies.

The case of Roe v. Wade began in 1973 when a pregnant unmarried woman named Norma McCorvey sued then-Texas Attorney General Henry Wade for the right to have an abortion. At the time, Texas outlawed abortions unless it was needed to save a woman's life.

The U.S. Supreme Court rightfully ruled in favor of McCorvey, legalizing abortions within the first and second trimesters of pregnancies.

The annual number of U.S. abortions in 2000 was at the lowest level since 1974, according to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit reproductive health research group.

That year, there were 21.3 abortions per 1,000 women between the ages of 15 and 44, a decrease some say is because of an increase in technology.

The number of physicians' offices, clinics and hospitals where abortions are performed declined 11 percent from 1996 to 2000, according to the institute.

Regardless of an individual's stance on the debated issue, both sides should come together to reduce the number of abortions. If the number of unwanted pregnancies was minimized, both sides would find more comfort in the issue.

Those who are passionate in their beliefs should keep talking. Even though the Supreme Court has legalized abortions does not mean the problem disappears. People will continue to disagree but they need to agree to disagree.

Instead of wasting dialogue on what is good and what is evil, both sides should promote education. People do not want to talk about sex until it involves pregnancy.

If schools and parents took it upon themselves to make their children aware of the consequences of sex and disease and pregnancy prevention, abortion wouldn't be as large of an issue as it is today.