A lot has changed since Jan. 22, 1973, when Roe v. Wade was decided, campus organization leaders say.

Thirty years later, the struggle to maintain, or abolish, abortion is still an ongoing debate. On Wednesday, ISU activists on both sides of the political spectrum will demonstrate their views on what the fate of abortion in the United States should be.

Cicely Schramm, president of the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance, said the anniversary of Roe v. Wade provides an opportunity to appreciate the work done in the 1970s to obtain the right of women to choose.

“The main difference between then and now is that people our age that are doing a lot of activism have never had to live in a society where [abortion] wasn’t legal, so I don’t think we appreciate what all those women back then did for us and how big a deal it is,” said Schramm, senior in genetics.

She said she believes steps toward making abortion illegal won’t eliminate the procedure.

“Outlawing abortion does not make it go away. It never has and it never will,” Schramm said. “If [women are] going to get this procedure, we need to keep them safe.

“Since Bush has become president, he has taken a lot of steps to limit and go toward taking away our right to choose, and so I think it’s becoming more of a problem than a lot of people are aware of,” she said.

Schramm said FMLA members will supply cake in the Memorial Union in celebration of the anniversary.

James Wilson, adviser of Students for Life, said there have been significant changes in public opinion since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973.

“I think in the last 30 years people have gotten so used to the fact that abortion is legal that some people have copped out and decided not to think about whether it should be [legal] and let the law decide,” he said.

Many people are discovering abortion’s “negative effects” the hard way, said Wilson, associate professor of mathematics.

“A lot of people are feeling miserable for having had an abortion,” he said. “They consider it a totally negative experience.”

Wilson said he believes abortion will eventually be made illegal if citizens take a stand against it.

“The courts have gotten more liberal and have reinforced the [Roe v. Wade] decision, but I don’t think that it necessarily tells where we are going in the future,” he said. “We shouldn’t be putting pressure on politicians and asking them to change it. Individuals making up their minds and waking up to what’s happening is what will make the politicians follow — they’re not going to lead it.”

Wilson said many abortion clinics have been shut down in the past 15 years.

“There were 2,000 clinics in the early ’90s and now the number is down to 760 because it’s such a dirty business,” he said. “The more people realize this, the more the country will change.”

Wilson said Students for Life will be handing out Life Savers attached to a “positive pro-life message” across campus in recognition of the anniversary.