ABSTRACT
In July 1989, the US Supreme Court inaugurated a new era in abortion politics in the United States. In upholding a Missouri statute restricting abortion (Webster v. Reproductive Health Services), the Court signaled a shift in the debate from national to state politics, from courtrooms to legislatures, and from judicial appointments to election campaigns. Since New Jersey was one of only two states which held statewide elections in 1989, national attention focused on the Garden State as a case study, a test of how state elections and state politics would be influenced by the changing conditions of the abortion debate post-Webster. New Jersey is the ninth largest state in population and the most densely populated state in the nation. There are 567 municipalities in the state and no county land remains unincorporated. It is difficult to convey fully the impact in New Jersey of news of the Supreme Court's ruling in Webster that states would be permitted to restrict abortion.
