ABSTRACT
In a 1968 article, Roy Lucas determined that "the constitutional issues implicit in the enactment and application of abortion laws have received scant judicial attention." During the 1960s, there was Catholic resistance to abortion reform, although this resistance was sporadic and disorganized. The prochoice movement emerged from those single-issue groups that rallied behind abortion reform in the 1960s. The antagonists in the abortion struggle represent distinctive socioeconomic and ideological constituencies. The abortion controversy has become a partisan issue between Democrats and Republicans. It has been exploited by Richard Nixon and especially Ronald Reagan to attract working-class and Catholic voters away from their traditional allegiance to the Democratic party. Abortion policy finds deep intervention by Congress in the administration of law. The abortion debate now divides political parties and envelops their presidential candidates, although Ronald Reagan has supported the prolife cause more than did any of his predecessors in the White House.
