The political opponents of legal abortion achieved considerable gains in the 1980 American elections. A president who was committed to a strong antiabortion position was elected, and antiabortion candidates prevailed in six out of seven Senate races that pitted supporters against opponents of legal abortion and in seven out of nine similar confrontations in the House races. However, it is not clear that abortion was an overriding or decisive factor in determining those outcomes. Democrats and Republicans, Carter voters and Reagan voters did not differ significantly in their attitudes toward abortion. The presidential voter groups were divided on several other issues, and along income and racial lines, to a far greater extent than they were on abortion. Voters were not likely to name abortion as one of the more important problems facing the nation. Carter supporters rated abortion as more important than did Reagan supporters. Although the party platforms and the presidential candidates were clearly differentiated in their abortion stands, these differences were not well communicated to the citizenry. When voters attempted to describe the position of each candidate on abortion, they displayed a great deal of uncertainty, error and confusion. In the key Senate races, those who voted for the prochoice candidates held more liberal abortion attitudes than those who voted for the right-to-life candidates. This difference, although statistically significant, was not great, and was smaller than the differences related to several other issues--such as attitudes toward the role of government, women's rights and economic policies.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
PIP: The political opponents of legal abortion achieved considerable gains in the 1980 American elections. A president who was committed to a strong antiabortion position was elected, and antiabortion candidates prevailed in 6 out of 7 Senate races that pitted supporters against opponents of legal abortion and in 7 out of 9 similar confrontations in the House races. However, it is not clear that abortion was an overriding or decisive factor in determining those outcomes. Democrats and Republicans, Carter and Reagan voters did not differ significantly in their attitudes toward abortion, nor were voters likely to name abortion as one of the more important problems facing the nation, though Carter voters did rate it as more important than did Reagan voters. Although the party platforms and the presidential candidates were clearly differentiated in their abortion stands, these differences were not well communicated to the citizenry, as voters demonstrated a great deal of confusion and uncertainty when they attempted to describe the position of each candidate. In the key Senate races, those who voted for the prochoice candidates held more liberal abortion attitudes than those who voted for the right-to-life candidates. This difference was smaller than the differences related to several other issues--such as attitudes toward the role of government, women's rights, and economic policies. In addition, the difference was reduced to nonsignificance after the voter's political affiliation and family income were controlled for. The level of public approval for legalized abortion has been stable since 1973, and the popular base for limiting access to or banning abortion seems to be lacking. The antiabortion forces appear to have made political gains in 1978 and 1980 as an incidental consequence of the electorates' shift toward political conservatism. This ascendancy began to be reversed in the 1982 congressional elections.