the termination of a pregnancy by the removal,by surgical or other means,of an embryo or fetus from a woman's uterus. since 1973,abortion was considered a crime unless performed by physicians to protect the life of the mother. the supreme court ruled in the case of roe v.wade 1973 that a woman had the right to choose abortion to end a pregnancy through the first trimester. in the latter stages of pregnancy.danger to the life of the mother could still justify a legal abortion.