the poll found that 70% oppose overturning roe v. wade compared to just 24% who support overturning the roe v. wade decision. president obama released this statement today. on the 40th anniversary of roe v. wade, we reaffirm its historical commitment to protect the health and reproductive rights of women, and the standing that government should not interfere with the most private family matters and women should be able to make their choices about their bodies and health care. today, the efforts to reduce unintended pregnancies, and minimize the need for abortion. on this anniversary we re-commit ourselves to supporting women and families and the choices they make and redouble the efforts to promote safe and healthy communities. joining me now is cecille richards, the president of planned parenthood. it is striking that the 40th anniversary of roe v. wade, there are no women alive before roe v. wade knew a world in which there was not the opportunity. >> and the nbc poll is fascinating. it really shows there is consistent support in this c

it is striking that the 40th anniversary of roe v. wade, there are no women alive before roe v. wade knew a world in which there was not the opportunity. >> and the nbc poll is fascinating. it really shows there is consistent support in this country for a woman making her own decisions, and among the next generation, consistently the same belief. that women, not politicians should make their personal decisions about their health care. >> and when you see that 9%, on what is the paul ryan, the no exceptions position on abortion, the abortion that was held by all of those crazy republicans who tried to justify it this year by saying things like, well, you know in rape, the female body has defenses against pregnancy and rape, and all that

they are protesting the roe v. wade wade decision. roe v. in 1973. at the time, texas law prohibited abortions except to save the mother's life. senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen returned to the state where it all began and spoke to both sides. >> reporter: roe v. wade originated in texas and 40 years later the situation here and in much of the u.s. is complex. on the one hand the governor has made this vow. >> my goal and the goal of many of those joining me here today is to make abortion at any stage a thing of the past. >> reporter: on the other hand, this is the reality. it's elizabeth at cnn. >> come on in. >> reporter: i'm at a health clinic in austin where seven women will have abortions today. >> do we have anymore all t ultrasounds? >> i don't think so. >> reporter: she offers a care that includes providing abortions to 9,000 women a year. >> my main goal is to provide an oasis where she feels safe and at peace. >> reporter: 72,470 women received abortions in 2011. in the u.s., nearly one in three women will have an abort

market and adjoining streets for two and a half hours and the matchers' message was simple, overturn roe v. wade. >> the plaza was filled with more than 240u7b people in the ninth annual walk for life. prolife supporters listened to speeches on the norse of roe v. wade. generalster o'neill poke spoke to the crowd. >> abortion hurts women and families and society and needs to become unthinkable. >> o'neill says she is a member of silent no more and is impressed by the turnout. pope benedict sent his ambassador to the the event to personally deliver his message regarding roe v. wade. >> support those who want to have the decision and law established in this country. >> at 1:30 the group marched from civic center down market street. the crowd was so large it took the better part of an hour to clear the plaza. earlier in the day a prochoice celebration commemorating roe v. wade was held in the plaza. >> we must stand against the people who want to eliminate reproductive education in our schools. >> 300 people listened to speakers and music. sap extra, who was called a slut by rush limbaugh when she

now, they also say that their message every year is, overturn roe v. wade. >> the ninth annual walk for life was a huge success according to organizers. more than 40 on the people filled the plaza. it was scheduled on the 40th 40th anniversary of roe v. wade. actress and mold jennifer o'neill talk about her regret of having an abortion. >> we cannot be lukewarm about the life issue. that at such a time as this more than ever, we need to stand up and be heard. reporter: o'neill says she is a member of silent no more. pope benedict xvi sent his ambassador to the event to if there his message regarding roe v. wade. >> mob -- nobody has right to kill another human being. in any moment of his life. reporter: the group marched from civic center down market street. the crowd was so large it took the better part of an hour to clear the plaza. earlier in the day a prochoice celebration commemorating roe v. wade was held in the plaza. >> it's our bodies. we should be able to make that decision. reporter: more than 300 people lisped to speakers and music. sandra, who

wade. >> in my view, the right course for roe v. wadeve it overturned. >> i would love to have the supreme court say let's send this back to the states rather than having a federal mandate through roe v. wade, let the states again consider this issue state by state. >> my view is that the right next step in the fight to preserve the sanctity of life is to see roe v. wade overturned. >> do i believe the supreme court should overturn roe v. wade? yes, i do. >> it used to be that republicans were a little more subtle about this question. they would talk about there not being a litmus test, or how they respected supreme court precedent and thought every case should be assessed on its merits. but with this republican ticket this year, there was not subtlety about this issue at all. they were very clear that had mitt romney become president yesterday instead of barack obama being sworn in again yesterday, the romney/ryan administration would have done everything they could to overturn roe versus wade. and that means that if there were a vacanc

for more on the present and future of roe v. wade i'm happy to be joined by congresswoman karen bass, democrat of california. >> thanks for having me on. >> john: the latest polls show a majority of americans support abortion rights in all or most cases. to you does this represent a turning point in this debate or has it been this way for awhile? >> i think it has been this way for awhile. i think there is a whole generation of women who have grown up understanding that a woman has a right to choose. so why we continue to try to turn back the clock of time, it is beyond me. >> john: it is because of the strong views of many of the people who call themselves pro-life. what's interesting is that strong majorities reject a future supreme court totally overturning roe v. wade. does that mean abortion rights at least at a constitutional level are safe as long as democrats keep appointing supreme court justices for awhile. >> thank goodness the about was re-elected so we don't have to worry about the supreme court being distorted. i do thi

roe v. wade overturned many federal and state restrictions on a woman's right to an abortion. you have to be of a certain age to remember how, before abortion became legal, a woman could be tormented by an unwanted pregnancy that she was forced to carry to term by the police powers of the state. in that dark age leading up to the court's decision, america's most trusted news man walter cronkite of cbs tried to make sense of the debate and the danger. >> the illegal termination of pregnancy has reached epidemic proportions in this country. the laws which govern abortion are broken an estimated 1 million times a year, 3,000 times a day, for various medical, social, and economic reasons the laws do not recognize as valid. the conflict between the law and reality has resulted in a national dilemma. only recently have our abortion laws been openly questioned, as a dialogue begun among doctors, lawyers, and clergymen. >> the law's against you, your colleagues are against you, and it makes a very unhapp

may have suffered a heart attack. 40 years ago today, right for abortion was established with the roe v. wadennon bream has more on where we are now. >> the issue of the roe v. wade opinion 40 years ago does little to settle the debate over abortion. pro-life advocates have tange their fight to the state level where the legislators across the country enacted numerous laws aimed to rolling back roe, sparking battles over required ultra sounds and regulation for abortion clinics. because of the number of the pro-life state measures passed in 2012, pro-choice groups for reproductive rights, crr said last year was assault on women reproductive rights. one thing the two sides agree on the fight is not over. >> there is rising tide across the country of pro-life legislators for bigging up the flag and advancing the defensive life and law. >> relentless attack on the street services. i expect that to continue on the state level. >> happy anniversary, baby. >> crr is taking heat over an ad meant to mark 4th anniversary of the rode six entitled "happy anniversary, baby." they say the use of the word "

opponents of abortion gathered on capitol hill today and they are still working very hard to overturn roe v. wade0th anniversary of roe versus wade we remember the 55 million babies who have been aborted. we must press on. with hope that one day we will live in a country where each and every life born and unborn is respected, valued, and given the opportunity to pursue his or her dreams. >> and joining me now here is marjorie, who is president of the susan b. anthony list, one of the leading voices in the anti-abortion rights movement. thank you very much for joining us. >> thanks for having me. >> you saw our polling where public opinion is very much moving in a different direction, so what is the strategy, political strategy, and legal strategy of your movement? >> well, your poll is a snip et after the election, and it is a sign post in time. however, the trend line and gallop has shown over many years is that what they call pro-life is the new norm. the gallop numbers. >> those were from 2010, and it's when people are asked about being pro-life or anti-life? it's a different terminology, and

now, what is interesting is they may self-identify as pro life, but they also -- >> support roe v. wade>> support roe versus wade. that's a very distinguishing point. it's the first time we've seen this in politics, and i really think that now there's a little bit of grappling with that at the state legislative level where you have legislators who are reflecting in arkansas, for example, or mississippi the value system there and the political climate there, which is not the same as new york or maryland where i'm from, and that's why you are seeing this sort of hodge podge of states sort of aggressively go after this issue to sort of get in front of the polling that shows 51% of americans or 51% or more in my community say that they're pro-life, irrespective of where their view is on roe. >> michael, in terms of chipping away at roe, it seems now that it really sort of to a certain degree the actual supreme court ruling may be -- it may be negligable in terms of what you can do to restrict a woman's right to choose. today is "the "wall street journal" day so i'll read this. i don't need

tomorrow will be the 40th anniversary of roe v. wade. what has happened to the american people? ustomed to it and 63% of americans say they would be opposed to overturning the roe v. wade. back in 2011 they broke the amount of laws that were limiting abortion. you see 92, which is gigantic. now in 2012 well, it's been down to 43. those 43 are now centered on six states, and of course there are some red states that are trying to take away rights. now this is an interesting stat as well. this is the most interesting one. hey, do you think abortion should be legal or not? 52% say it should be legal under certain circumstances. 25% said legal in all cases and 20% wanted flat-out outlawed. that means only 20% of the country, one in five actually want abortion to be illegal under all circumstances. overturn roe v. wade. that's a tiny minority. you have 77% saying they are, in fact, pro-choice. when you say legal under certain circumstances. that makes you pro-choice. that mean you're in favor of roe v. wade after all. the country is on our sides and on the side of the legislatures, not

today is 40th anniversary of roe v. wade.-abortion group is making a mockery of protecting unborn kids. watch. >> all these years, so many people said we'd never make it. they have been trying to tear us apart. take you away. >> eric: the name of that video. happy 40th anniversary, baby. we'll show you the rest of the video when we come right back. ♪ ♪ >> andrea: today is the 40th anniversary of roe v. wade. controversial supreme court ruling that legalized abortion. one pro-choice group, center for reproductive rights put out a video featuring actor that celebrates the anniversary. >> hey, baby. did you think i forgot? i didn't forget. how could i ever forget our anniversary? all these years, so many people said we'd never make it. they have been trying to tear us apart. take you away. put limits on you. not me. but every time we have proven ourselves stronger, the anniversary like this is not something that you forget. no, no, no, no, baby. this is something that you fight for. that's exactbely what i'm going to do, baby. t

. >>> up next, 40 years after roe v. wadewant abortion to be legal, pure and simple. it's another way the progressives seem to be winning the culture wars. it's very clear, the latest nbc numbers we just got today, and this is "hardball," the place for politics. >>> well, chuck hagel is making the rounds on capitol hill trying to win over support for his nomination as defense secretary. today he met with senator john mccain who has been a vocal critic of the obama administration. on a lot of fronts. late this afternoon he and hagel had a frank and candid conversation in which they discussed some of mccain's concerns. mccain also called hagel an old friend. it's worth remembering both men are veterans of the vietnam war, and that's certainly a band of brothers. we'll be right back. >>> january 22nd, 1973 will stand out as one of the great days for freedom and free choice. this allows a woman free choice as to whether or not remain pregnant. this is extraordinary. >> welcome back to "hardball" that clip is from nbc news nightly

. >>> up next, 40 years after roe v. wade be legal, pure and simple. it's another way the progressives seem to be winning the culture wars. it's very clear, the latest nbc numbers we just got today, and this is "hardball," the place for politics. [ female announcer ] this is your moment. the delightful discovery. the sweet realization that you have a moment all to yourself. well, almost. splenda® no calorie sweetener. splenda® makes the moment yours™. i was talking to my best friend. i told her i wasn't feeling like myself... i had pain in my pelvic area... and bleeding that wasn't normal for me. she said i had to go to the doctor. turned out i had uterine cancer, a type of gynecologic cancer. i received treatment and we're confident i'll be fine. please listen to your body. if something doesn't feel right for two weeks or longer, see your doctor. get the inside knowledge about gynecologic cancers. knowing can make all the difference in the world. >>> well, chuck hagel is making the rounds on capitol hill trying to win over s

i want to see if there is any chance that they can overconcern roe v. wade. scared because when you look at all the difference laws that restrict abortion access, the republicans are achieving what they want. is there a possible to overturn roe v. wade. >> it is a possibility. we have a supreme court that is divided on these question, and there are laws that have been passed around the country that will eventually go before the united states supreme court. that's why this election was so important. if there are any vacancy on the supreme court board it is important to appoint pro-choice justices, and we have to keep fighting. especially in these states that are dominated by these ultra conservative right wing legislatures and governors where they're passing these horrific laws in an tempt to close down access. right now in the state of mississippi there is one clinic in the entire state serving one is one of the poorest populations with the highest maternal mortality rates in this country. that governor and that legislature is determined to close that only cli

speaker, 40 years ago when the supreme court's roe v. wade decision was handed down, i was a college student taking courses with a desire to pursue my goal of being a doctor one day. you know, that was when roe v. wade was passed and hardly anybody even noticed what a landmark decision that was that has led now to the death of over 55 million unborn innocents in this country. today, after 36 years as a family physician and having delivered hundreds of babies, i know now more than ever that life begins at conception of the decades, medical technology has only served to confirm what we know. ultrasound has given us a powerful window into the womb that shows us a small developing human being. we know now through d.n.a. that every little baby and embring yeoh is a unique -- embryo is a unique blueprint. this must be our first priority. that's what i strived to do as a family physician in louisiana looking after expectant mothers and soon to be born babies. as a congressman, it has unchanged. abortion is an attack of the very creed that i follow a

slaughter: i am pleased to rise today to recognize the landmark anniversary of the roe v. wade decision by the supreme court. s the firewall that protects women's health and moved women's health forward. on this 40th anniversary of roe v. wade, we confirm the constitutionally protected right of every woman to safe and legal health care. women are nurturers and when life places a woman in the most difficult of circumstance the choices she needs to make should be free from government interference. over the years i have been proud to stand with many of my colleagues as we have beaten back repeated attempts to chip away at women's rights set forth in roe v. wade. over the last two years, we've seen the most extreme and repeated attempts to take a -- away a woman's right to health care. in the most recent congress we found ourselves defending a woman's right to choose and -- a woman's right to contraception. we insisted politicians not place themselves in the operating room to not judge the motives of a woman if they thought her decision may have been based on the gender or race of

this week marks the 40th anniversary of roe v wade, the landmark supreme court ruling that established the right to abortion. a new poll coinciding with the anniversary shows a record 70% of americans oppose overturning roe v. wade. for the first time on record, a majority believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases. despite the apparent shift in public opinion, abortion rights remain under siege. last year saw u.s. states enact the second highest number of anti-choice restrictions in history. recent restrictions include a wave of state bans on abortion in later stages of pregnancy. here at the sundance film festival, a remarkable new film follows the only four doctors left in the u.s. to openly provide abortions in the third trimester. the film is called, "after tiller" after dr. george tiller, a man who performed the third trimester abortions despite constant threats and attacks from anti-abortion extremists. tiller's clinic was firebombed in 1985. eight years later, he survived an assassination attempt. then on may 31, 2009, dr. george tiller was gunned down by scott roede

slaughter: i am pleased to rise today to recognize the landmark anniversary of the roe v. wade decision by the supreme court. s the firewall that protects women's health and moved women's health forward. on this 40th anniversary of roe v. wade, we confirm the constitutionally protected right of every woman to safe and legal health care. women are nurturers and when life places a woman in the most difficult of circumstance the choices she needs to make should be free from government interference. over the years i have been proud to stand with many of my colleagues as we have beaten back repeated attempts to chip away at women's rights set forth in roe v. wade. over the last two years, we've seen the most extreme and repeated attempts to take a -- away a woman's right to health care. in the most recent congress we found ourselves defending a woman's right to choose and -- a woman's right to contraception. we insisted politicians not place themselves in the operating room to not judge the motives of a woman if they thought her decision may have been based on the gender or race of

of one of the most important and controversial supreme court decisions of the twentieth century roe v wade that's right on january twenty second back in one thousand nine hundred seventy three it was declared that all laws prohibiting abortion violate a woman's constitutional right to privacy and while there are thousands of pro-life activists using the anniversary to campaign for roe v wade to be overturned a pew research poll shows that more than six out of ten americans do not agree they would not want to see a reversal of the decision however you may find this a little bit disconcerting according to another recent pew study most young people have no clue roe v wade even is yet a whopping fifty six percent of those polled didn't know that the case had anything to do with abortion so if our young people aren't educated how do they even know what their rights are and if they don't know what their rights are how will they defend them let's break the set. a little hard. to do their job or she's going to be like i'm drunk. yesterday almost a million people attended president obama's inaugura

>> brown: and we mark the 40th anniversary of the "roe v. wade" decision by the supreme court, with a look at the strategies of abortion rights advocates and opponents. that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: close to iconic landmarks, to local life, to cultural treasures. it's a feeling that only a river can give you. these are journeys that change your perspective on the world. and perhaps even yourself. viking river cruises. exploring the world in comfort. >> bnsf railway. >> and by the bill and melinda gates foundation. dedicated to the idea that all people deserve the chance to live a healthy, productive life. >> and with the ongoing support of these institions andc fountions. and friends of the newshour. and... >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> ifill: president obama's forceful new focus on progressive ideals echoed across the nation on this day after the inaugu

clashes across the barricades as abort advocates and opponents rallied on the 40th anniversary of roe v. wade>> the clash followed a morning of quieter events, such as this rally at justin herman plaza. the roe v. wade supreme court decision made abortion legal. >> it just gave me a relief. rose jackson was happily married with kids, but noticed a shift in in her perspective that day. >> i was thinking that if i got pregnant and didn't want to have this baby, it was my choice and available to me. >> what is today's fight? what comes next. >> reporter: the law student who testified before congress about contraception and criticized by rush limbaugh was one of the event's speakers. >> there is more profound site about access, about affordability and insurance coverage and about making sure that people especially in rural areas have access to it. >> reporter: across town, thousands of people gathered acivic center plaza. people at the west coast walk for life rally hopes to see roe v. wade overturned one day. >> i would like everyone to question abortion. everybody said it should be legal and pe

this week marks the 40th anniversary of the supreme court's roe v. wade decision. will protests be larger than usual? >> reporter: because of the anniversary which fell on the day after inauguration so instead of having these two huge events back-to-back they bunched this one over to friday. in the last 40 years one of the biggest changes had been state laws, just in the last couple of years there have been 135 new restrictions mainly by republican legislators on abortion and that has some pro choice activists concerned. they say the big issue is now access. our latest nbc/wall street journal poll shows public opinion is still firmly behind roe v. wade with seven out of ten saying it should be the law of the land. those who disagree will be on the mall today. thousands of them, and among the speakers republican house speaker john boehner and former republican presidential candidate rick santorum. >> thank you. >>> manti te'o speaks in his first on-camera interview since the girlfriend hoax story broke. thursday, te'o told katie couric he was absolutely not in on th

. >>> today the 40th anniversary of the landmark roe v. wade case. issue remains a contentious topic. people on both sides rallied today in the bay area. >> my professors used to tell me about wards which is k would be 30 to 50 women just lying there dying from back alley abortions. >> 40 years legalized murder is sad. so we're not celebrate. >> a research poll shows 63% of americans would now be in fair of overturning roe v. wade. >>> the characters in the ewill be a boar raid so called hoax involving man te'o's hoax. diane omira the today show she went to high school with the man accused of creating the fake girlfriend. she says she's a victim too, of identity theft. >>> officials at the city college of san francisco are preparing tens of thousands of students for the possibility at this school will be unable to dig out of its deep financial crisis. as rob roth reports it involves complete closure. >> reporter: at the city college of san francisco students are worried. worried whether they're school will be around much long. >> kind of makes it har

so what does roe v. wade mean if states can do this? no longer ago the legality of it and access to care that women seek. what is sad about these politicians is that they don't believe that women can make this decision with their family and their doctors. they believe that politicians should make these decisions. so women men, and families have to say enough. state out of our business and we have connect the personal to the political, and until states elect governors and legislators that are going to advance pro choice values, we're going to see this kind of activity. fundamentally elections matter. >> jennifer: right and in the off years often democrats do not come out to vote. which is why these all of the governors took over in 2010 and that's why you are continuing to see all of these bills come forward. yet another governor put his foot in his mouth about rape. he is co-chairman of the 21-member house republican doctor's caucus. he defended todd akin's comments saying that the body can shut that whole thing down if it's legitimate

before roe v. wade were the leading cause of death for women of child-bearing age and especially true of women of color. so as this access is narrowed, it puts pressure on the bodily rights of women and we can not forget the issue of access. we are joined by chloe angyal and also katrina vanden houvel, and bob herbert who is senior fellow at demos, and access is what we should be fighting to the. >> yes. what people don't know after the roe v. wade, hyde amendment was passed a and that prevented medicaid from covering abortion, and what the abortion funds do nationwide and there are over 100 funds and what they do is to he heldp women pay for their abortions, and so that is what abortion funds do, and that what we are here the day every day and day in, day out, and whatever people feel about abortion, politicians should not be able to deny women health care coverage because they are poor. >> and katrina, this seems to me, some space and even the 70% where people will stand up for the planned parenthood

. >>> up next 40 years after roe v. wadend simple. it's another way the progressives seem to be winning the culture wars. the latest nbc numbers we just got today and this is "hardball," the place for politics. ♪ i have direct deposit on my visa prepaid. my paycheck is loaded right on my card. automatic. i am not going downtown standing in line to cash it. i know where my money is, because it is in my pocket. i got more time with my daughter, we got places to go. [ freeman ] go open a new world, with visa prepaid. more people go with visa. [ male announcer ] available at rushcard.com. more people go with visa. i i had pain in my abdomen...g. it just wouldn't go away. i was spotting, but i had already gone through menopause. these symptoms may be nothing... but they could be early warning signs of a gynecologic cancer, such as cervical, ovarian, or uterine cancer. feeling bloated for no reason. that's what i remember. seeing my doctor probably saved my life. warning signs are not the same for everyone. if you think something'