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Article updated: 1/21/2013 10:03 AM

Roe v Wade: After 40 years, deep divide is legacy

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Anti-abortion supporters gather for the Rally for Life at the Earle Cabell Federal Courthouse, site of the landmark Roe v Wade lawsuit filing over 40 years ago, in downtown Dallas, Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013. The anti-abortion rally marks the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. Between 8,000-10,000 anti-abortion supporters gathered for the March for Life from the Cathedral Guadalupe.

Associated Press

Anti-abortion supporters parade down St. Paul St. during the March for Life in downtown Dallas, Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013 marking the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. Between 8,000-10,000 anti-abortion supporters gathered for the March for Life from the Cathedral Guadalupe to the Earle Cabell Federal Courthouse, site of the landmark Roe v Wade lawsuit filing in Dallas.

Associated Press

Rev. Chris Woodall of the Church of the Holy Communion, center, leads a prayer with Michael Templin, second from right, Susan Sutton, right, and others during the Roe Memorial Rosary/Jericho Walk around the Routh Street Women's Clinic to mark the 40th anniversary of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion, in Dallas on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013.

Associated Press

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By today's politically polarized standards, the Supreme Court's momentous Roe v. Wade ruling was a landslide. By a 7-2 vote on Jan. 22, 1973, the justices established a nationwide right to abortion. Forty years and roughly 55 million abortions later, however, the ruling's legacy is the opposite of consensus. Abortion ranks as one of the most intractably divisive issues in America.