1943: Abortion is illegal in Britain, and illegal abortions are performed by untrained people. Many women are seriously injured and about thirty die each year.

1983: Abortion is legal if performed in the first twenty-eight weeks of pregnancy. This law was established by the 1967 Abortion Act.

Today: Abortion in Britain is legal if performed in the first twenty-four weeks of pregnancy. The written permission of two doctors is required. In 2001 in England and Wales, 175,952 abortions are performed, with an additional 12,000 in Scotland.

1943: The Allies begin to turn the tide against Nazi Germany in World War II.

1983: The Cold War between two nuclear-armed superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, means that the world lives under the threat of nuclear annihilation.

Today: One of the main global security problems is the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the threat of biological and chemical weapons. The fear that...