The Cross and Pen

            When I was eight years old, the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of Jane Roe. The ruling stated a woman had the right to choose what to do with her body without excessive oversight from the government. This ruling sparked a series of debates between conservatives, who viewed the practice as a barbaric form of murder, against liberals, who viewed the decision as a monumental leap forward in the battle for women’s rights. Forty years later, the issue is still a hot-button topic that frequently becomes entangled in political rhetoric.              During the years immediately following the court’s ruling, the central issue of debate was when life began. Opponents of abortion argued life began at conception. Dr. Micheline M. Matthews-Roth of Harvard Medical School, stated:   In biology and in medicine, it is an accepted fact that the life of any individual organism ...