I was always amazed about how controversial and topical the issue of abortion is in the US. In Europe it is virtually non-existent since I remember myself.
Even here in Greece, by far the most socially conservative country in the EU, abortion was legalized back in the 70's with little resistance from the powerful Orthodox church and nobody ever mentioned it since then, much less used it as a wedge issue.
The language of rights leads to the politics of absolutes. Essentially. Officially neither side in the American abortion 'debate' are in favour of any kind of compromise with the other.
