The issue of abortion has sharply divided America. The bitter debate over Roe v. Wade - in the courts, legislatures, press and streets - has grown ever more ferocious since the Supreme Court's landmark decision in 1973. For years pro-choicers have applauded Roe as a guarantee of women's rights, while pro-lifers have condemned it as the work of an activist and atheistic Court. Now it looms at the centre of a growing political storm, as a new president, and old Court, and a divided Congress reconsider Roe's status in the wake of the controversial 2000 elections.