ABSTRACT
The abortion wars between pro-choice and pro-life advocates continue in Congress, state legislatures, and state and federal courts. The abortion issue divides people into seemingly irreconcilable camps-those who sponsor family values and rights of the unborn versus those who champion women's individual rights. The framing of abortion as a right may have undercut the emerging consensus that favored abortions for therapeutic or medical purposes. The American Medical Association (AMA) lobbied against abortions obtained without a physician's designation of the abortion as "therapeutic". Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC), also formed in 1973, supports family planning and abortion, debunking the myth that all Catholics follow the bishops unquestioningly. CFFC originally just wanted recognition for pro-choice Catholics but in the 1970s and 1980s focused on lobbying for reproductive freedom and generating a feminist movement infused with religion. The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG), established in 1973 by Dr. Matthew J. Bulfin, tries to persuade colleagues to oppose abortion.
