Vote USA 2008 issues: Abortion

Abortion is an issue that divides the nation almost down the middle.

According to a 2006 Pew Research Center poll, 51% of Americans overall believe abortion should be available in all or most cases, compared with 46% who say it should be illegal in all or most cases.

The landmark 1973 Roe v Wade Supreme Court ruling that established a constitutional right to abortion continues to face legal challenges and fuel controversy.

REPUBLICANS AND ABORTION Should be illegal in all cases - 22% Should be illegal in most cases - 36% Should be legal in most cases - 28% Should be legal in all cases - 10% SOURCE: Pew Research Center. Based on Republican and Republican-leaning registered voters, surveyed Aug 2007 US religious right faces dilemma

While not all Republicans oppose abortion rights and not all Democrats support them, it is fair to say that an influential proportion of the core Republican vote is against abortion.

An August 2007 Pew study found that 43% of Republican and Republican-leaning voters said social issues would be "very important" in deciding who to vote for in 2008.

And of those "social-issues" voters, more than eight in 10 said abortion should be illegal in all or most cases. Nine in 10 of the same group said they opposed same-sex marriage.

Wedge issue

On the Democratic side, the vast majority of voters want to keep abortion legal and both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are committed to appointing judges who would not overturn Roe v Wade.

Whether abortion will become the kind of hot-button general election issue that gay marriage did in the run-up to the 2004 vote remains to be seen.

Then, the galvanising effect of social issues was widely credited with getting out religious conservative "values voters" and helping Republican George W Bush to victory.

The Republican presumptive nominee, Senator John McCain, has rowed back on his previous support for Roe v Wade and said it should be overturned.

But he is less likely to use the issue of abortion as a wedge issue against Democrats in the general election - especially given the indications that voters in 2008 are more focused on the economy, healthcare and Iraq than on social and moral issues.