ABSTRACT
As groups on both sides of the abortion debate squared off, much of their activity was structured by the nature of the US federal system. Whereas abortion rights advocates looked to the federal courts for a single sweeping decision to apply to all of the states, opponents continued to press for victories on the state level. The concerns of Anti-Federalists—those opposed to the new Constitution—were sufficiently justified in the minds of many to make passage of a proposed Bill of Rights to amend the Constitution the first order of business for the new Congress in 1789. Several states, in fact, made specific mention of their police powers in their charters and the rights the charters allowed the states to retain in the federal system. Litigation in state and federal courts, however, is just one of the many tools wielded by interest groups to advance their policy interests.
