One of the sharpest divisions in [[United States]] politics is over whether "[[human life]] begins at [[conception]]" and if so, what this means.
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One of the sharpest divisions in [[United States]] politics is over taxpayer-funded [[abortion]], and [[abortion]] in general.
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Legally, in most jurisdictions, it is considered permissible to terminate the life of the [[fetus]] at any point in the pregnancy (see [[elective abortion]]) provided the unborn child's head has not emerged from the mother's body (see [[partial-birth abortion]]).
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By a 7-2 vote the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] legalized [[abortion]] on demand in 1973 throughout the [[United States]], which invalidated laws in virtually every state prohibiting or limiting [[abortion]].
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==Terminology==
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Some have pointed to the incongruity of US federal law which deems that the fertilized eggs of any of over 800 species of native birds warrant federal-government protection under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 while the fertilized egg of a human being is regarded as a disposable mass of tissue.
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Evangelical Christians prefer the term ''unborn child'' to the term ''fetus'' when discussing [[elective abortion]], since the former supports the viewpoint that (1) "Human life begins at [[conception]]" and (2) "[[Abortion]] is [[murder]]". They feel that calling the unborn child simply a "fetus" devalues [[human life]]. Some have pointed to the incongruity of US federal law which deems that the fertilized eggs of any of over 800 species of native birds warrant federal-government protection under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 while the fertilized egg of a human being is regarded as a disposable mass of tissue.