The Determinants of Attitudes toward Abortion in the American Electorate

Abstract

IN RECENT YEARS, the amount of discussion regarding abortion as a public policy issue has increased. The Supreme Court Roe vs. Wade judgment of 1973 ruled that the decision to have an abortion was solely a matter between a woman and her physician with some state regulation permissible after the first trimester of pregnancy (Hansen 1980). Despite the Court ruling, public opinion has remained divided. Many within what could be termed the womens' or the feminist movement