The abortion arena: recent activity

According to the United States Supreme Court in 1973, a pregnant woman does not have an absolute right to an abortion. The Supreme Court stated that a pregnant woman's right to an abortion, based in part upon her constitutional right of privacy, is limited by a state's interest in the protection of potential human life. A wave of state legislative activity has ensured, most of which has been attempts by states to flex their "police power" muscles. The consequence of such activity has been state statutes which are vague, overly broad, inconsistent with the approaches taken with respect to the area of prenatal negligence, and which often leave the physician and surgeon without proper standards of conduct.