ABSTRACT
As the eventual reversal of Roe v. Wade becomes increasingly likely, the abortion issue will intrude more frequently and more deeply into electoral politics. Already several US Senate, US House, and gubernatorial elections have focused in part on abortion, at least one lieutenant governor's election has hinged almost entirely on the issue, and the abortion controversy has been central in numerous state legislative elections. The predominantly Democratic Congress has repeatedly passed pro-choice legislation in the past few years, and Republican presidents have vetoed that legislation. Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush appointed new conservative justices to the US Supreme Court who have already restricted abortion rights and may ultimately provide the votes needed to overturn Roe. The presidential platforms increasingly diverged on the abortion issue between 1972 and 1980; during the 1980s, abortion seemed a litmus test issue for presidential candidates. The Webster decision indicated that the US Supreme Court was willing to consider new state restrictions on legal abortion.
