North Dakota and Arkansas are among the states that recently have passed legislation restricting access to abortion. Meanwhile, Washington state and New York are getting attention for possible action that could expand access to the procedure.

On Feb. 1, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released new rules for how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's contraception mandate applies to religious nonprofits, including houses of worship, schools and hospitals. Church-state law scholars Ira C. Lupu and Robert Tuttle explain the new rules and the legal arguments that religious groups might make.

Public Opinion on Abortion and Roe v. Wade 2013-01-18 Jan. 22, 2013, is the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion. A quarter of the U.S. public (25%) sees abortion as morally wrong and would like to have the decision completely overturned, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey.

As the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision approaches, the public remains opposed to completely overturning the historic ruling on abortion. More than six-in-ten (63%) say they would not like to see the court completely overturn the Roe v. Wade decision.

A series of graphics explores public opinion on abortion, illustrating how opinion differs among various demographic groups, including religious, political, age and gender groups.

During the past 35 years, federal courts, particularly the U.S. Supreme Court, have superseded states as the driving force in crafting abortion policy.

A breakdown of 17 major religious groups' views on the issue of abortion.