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Today’s R&D provides resources on the most divisive topic in American politics and arguably one that you should stay away from in extemp rounds:  abortion.  Since the U.S. Supreme Court found that there was a constitutional right to have an abortion in Roe v. Wade in 1973 the subject has steadily come to define the differences between America’s two major political parties.  Last week, the House passed legislation that would prohibit abortions after twenty weeks with pro-life lawmakers arguing that a fetus can feel pain after that length of time.  Pro-choice forces argue that the science for that finding is hardly definitive and that such legislation would further encroach on women’s rights.  Gallup polls show that Americans favor legalized abortion, but support for the procedure significantly falls after the first trimester (twelve weeks).  For example, Gallup finds that more than 60% of Americans favor prohibitions on partial birth abortion.