AIP 336 The Politics of Abortion (UP)
With the exception of race, no issue has remained on the political agenda as long or has split the country as fractiously as abortion policy. Since 1973, when access to abortion was legalized in the United States, there have been hundreds of pieces of legislation introduced and court cases filed in every state challenging the Roe v. Wade decision. Two major social movements and numerous interest groups on both sides of the issue have emerged as well. This course seeks to understand why this has happened by analyzing the historical, political, religious and cultural dimension of this issue within the broader context of American government and public policy.