Toledo Blade Special Report: 30 years after landmark court case, technology reshapes abortion debate

Toledo Blade Special Report By Luke Shockman

PART 1: 30 years after landmark court case, technology reshapes abortion debate - Advances increase viability of fetuses, detect early defects

Sandra Day O'Connor saw it coming.

In 1983, only a decade after the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark Roe vs. Wade ruling that legalized abortion, she worried about cracks in the legal foundation set up by Roe.

Justice O'Connor said Roe was "on a collision course with itself" as medical technology pushed down the age of fetal viability. Now Justice O'Connor has announced her retirement, and her colleague Chief Justice William Rehnquist has died. Congress easily approved John Roberts as the new chief justice Thursday and soon will debate President Bush's pick to replace Justice O'Connor. Depending on who is selected, it could tip the balance on the Supreme Court and either maintain the status quo on abortion law or allow more restrictions....

PART 2: Abortion debate foes tap into technology to serve their beliefs; Advances like ultrasound used by both...