Abortion: Where do we draw the line? Perhaps one of the most controversial court cases in our country's history was resolved in January 1973. With a decision known as Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court legalized abortion in the United States (1). Now, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, abortion practices have become the most common surgical procedure in the United States. But at what point is abortion simply wrong? Only under certain circumstances should the practice of abortion be legal. Many argue that abortion is wrong because as soon as the baby is conceived it becomes a living, breathing organism. Therefore, aborting the small organism is simply murder. However, when Roe v. Wade was decided, organizations like Planned Parenthood publicly supported this ruling, arguing that during the first three months of pregnancy, the fetus is nothing more than a mass of tissue (1). In addition to Planned Parenthood, there are also many religious organizations in favor of legalizing abortion. These organizations include the American Baptist Churches USA, the Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian Church USA, the United Methodist Church, and the United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism (2). But under what circumstances should abortive practices be accepted? As time goes by, it seems more and more women are having abortions as a way to escape responsibility. According to the AG Institution, 50% of women who have an abortion use it as their sole means of birth control (3). This is an example of how the practice of abortion is exploited and used for the wrong reasons. Additionally, approximately 45% of all abortions in the United States are performed by women aged 19 or younger. Why is this? According to a survey of 1,900 women in this country, the two most common reasons for abortion are: 1) the woman cannot afford to keep the baby and 2) the woman is not ready for this responsibility. These responses represented nearly 42% of all responses (3). However, these reasons are far from legitimate because these problems can be easily solved. There are too many contraceptives and other forms of birth control to allow these excuses to be justifiable. So what are acceptable reasons for aborting an unborn child? First and foremost, a mother's health should never be in danger. Another understandable reason to abort is when there may be possible health problems for the unborn child.