Understanding the New Politics of Abortion

A conservative majority on the Supreme Court, recent Supreme Court decisions such as Webster v. Reproductive Health Services and Hodgson v. Minnesota that give states more leeway to set abortion standards, actions by state legislatures and governors to pass new, tougher state antiabortion laws, as well as efforts by the Reagan and Bush administrations to prevent workers at federally funded family planning clinics from discussing with clients the availability of abortion services point to a new political climate surrounding the abortion issue. These recent developments also increase the chances that Roe v. Wade will be overturned in the future. This essay defines the parameters of a "new" politics of abortion, offers a framework for understanding this post- Webster abortion politics, and suggests an agenda for future research. The argument advanced here is that the politics of abortion can best be understood by examining the nature and scope of the conflict over abortion and the institutional context within which that conflict takes place.