Seminar paper from the year 1999 in the subject American Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 2 (B), LMU Munich (America Institute), language: English, abstract: In America, abortion is a topic that is especially discussed by the differentiating pro-life and pro-choice groups. They talk about whether women should be allowed to have an abortion or not, and almost every American has an opinion on the issue. One might ask if this is necessary considering the fact that laws do not prohibit abortion. But in the US, the overall question of morality, conservatism, but also individualism and equality plays an important role and is the basis for these discussions. Therefore, it is important to have a look at the history of abortion to understand the controversial opinions and the importance of the topic for the public. Furthermore, one has to understand the procedure of abortion and think about why women decide not to have a child. The fact that pro-life- and pro-choice-groups are trying to convince others of their attitude towards abortion plays an important role, as well as concerns about the future. To ease the beginning of the reading and to make the reader familiar with the issue, the paper starts with a definition of abortion.