Roe v. Wade 40th Anniversary: Legal Abortion Came With a Political Price

Tuesday marked the 40th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, which, in 1973, legalized most abortions in the United States, setting off a public debate that rages to this day -- a debate that has influenced elections, legislation, court appointments and the very face of the American political landscape.

Unlike other momentous Supreme Court decisions, Roe v. Wade was not unanimous. In Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, all nine justices agreed that school segregation was unconstitutional. A different set of nine also agreed to legalize interracial marriage in 1967's Loving v. Virginia.

But the Roe decision was split 7-2, and that fractured sentiment has plagued the country ever since. After Roe, religious conservatives found a rallying cry.

They joined forces with fiscal conservatives to form the modern Republican Party, and just seven years later, they helped elect Ronald Reagan, ushering in a 30-year partnership that would see conservatives win the presidency in five out of seven elections before the coalition began to waver in the waning years of the Bush era.

The case also set much of the public against what they saw as "judicial activism." The court chose to rule in a manner that swept aside most of the state laws restricting abortion, rather than focusing specifically on the onerous Texas law spotlighted in the case. Some pro-choice advocates think a more measured approach might have ultimately been more successful in changing public attitudes about abortion. Roe may have been too ahead of its time.

Still, it has stood against all challenges for 40 years, though it is only ever as secure as the makeup of the Supreme Court. Its popularity has sometimes suffered, but throughout its life, more Americans have always supported the ruling than opposed it, even if only by a narrow margin at times.

The broad nature of the ruling has driven opponents to search for other ways to block abortions, and those methods have often leaned toward preventing the procedure in practice rather than principle. While states cannot make abortion illegal, in 1992 opponents won the right to apply legal restrictions to abortion. In addition, they can restrict access to clinics, hospitals or doctors who will provide abortion care.

Local governments can refuse to provide funding for the procedure, or pass laws that make getting an abortion to difficult for women without means or resources or support. And the public can shame women who seek or receive abortions, and threaten to kill doctors who aid them.

Congressional Republicans have long tried to restrict funding to Planned Parenthood, the largest provider of abortion services in the country, ignoring that many women, as well as men and children, depend on the organization for family planning, STD testing and cancer screenings.

For now, abortion itself remains contentious, with a vocal minority focusing solely on the issue to the exclusion of all other concerns. But with no abortion cases or challenges before the court, and a Democratic president likely to appoint one or two more judges in the next few years, it seems that Roe v. Wade will be around to celebrate many more anniversaries.