Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life David Masci April 19, 2007
Wednesday’s 5-4 Supreme Court decision upholding a federal law banning a controversial abortion procedure may dramatically raise abortion’s visibility in the presidential election campaign. The ruling, a victory for anti-abortion advocates, will almost certainly energize both sides in the abortion debate and prompt them to pressure presidential contenders to take clearer, less ambiguous positions.
Traditionally, abortion has not often been one of the top issues in national elections. For instance, a survey conducted last year by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press found that abortion ranked at the very bottom of a list of 19 issues that voters deemed important. Education, the economy and national security issues topped the list.
But this decision – involving two cases, Gonzales v. Carhart and Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood – could be a game changer. Already abortion-rights groups, such as Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-choice America, have set off alarm bells, warning that the ruling could presage the eventual demise of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that established a constitutional right to abortion. Likewise, the anti-abortion camp is already talking about the need to ensure that the decision is not an isolated incident but a step on the road to striking down Roe.
The major presidential candidates quickly responded to the news, with Republicans applauding the decision and Democrats condemning it. Up to now, some candidates have offered views that stray from absolute support or opposition to abortion.
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