Abortion is one of those topics that people can't seem to stop talking about.
Letters about it regularly fill the Opinion Page of The State News, and people are highly polarized on both sides of the issue.
Abortion has been a hot topic for a number of years, but the controversy around it increased last week.
In one case, the South Dakota legislature passed a law banning abortion except when the mother's life is in danger. In the second, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would be getting involved again in the fray, taking up the issue of whether partial-birth abortions are legal.
Partial-birth abortion is a term that usually refers to dilation and extraction abortions, which are often used later in a woman's pregnancy.
The administration of President George W. Bush wants the 2003 Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, which has been struck down by Federal Appeals courts, reinstated.
The court has taken up the issue once before in the 2000 ruling Stenberg v. Carhart, in which it ruled that because Nebraska's ban on partial-birth abortion didn't have an exception for the health of the mother, it was unconstitutional.
It was inevitable the court would look at the issue again; laws banning the procedure are challenged all the time, including one in Michigan. The court was bound to want to take another crack at an issue this hotly debated.
No matter where you stand on this issue, a ruling either way could have far-reaching effects.
Opponents of partial-birth abortion want it outlawed because they see it as a gruesome procedure for the fetus involved and the killing of an innocent life.
They say there are better options for women who are pregnant and considering an abortion, such as adoption.
People who believe partial-birth abortion should be legal see the issue as one of choice. It should be the doctor's choice which procedure should be used and it shouldn't be outlawed.
Those who are against banning partial-birth abortions are also afraid banning it could be a slippery slope to banning all abortions.
The court's decision will probably not silence the issue, as its ruling in 1973 that abortion was legal in Roe v. Wade has not quieted the battle that rages over the issue.
Inform yourself. Try and look past the controversy and figure out where you stand on this issue.
