Significant Sign

Last month’s Supreme Court decision giving states new authority to restrict abortions deepened the concerns of pro-choice advocates that legislatures would now bend to the will of those who would repeal all legal access to abortions. Such efforts to deny women the right to end unwanted or life-endangering pregnancies are certain to occur. There are encouraging indications, however, that political support for the pro-choice position may prove to be a lot stronger than some had thought. The last five weeks have not seen a rush by politicians to embrace the anti-abortion line. Instead, prominent office-seekers in a number of key states have chosen to switch to a pro-choice position. This week’s special primary election for a vacant Assembly seat in a conservative San Diego-Riverside County district could encourage that trend.

As a result of the special primary, two pro-choice advocates, Republican Tricia Hunter and Democrat Jeannine Correia, will face each other in an Oct. 3 runoff election. Hunter, the automatic favorite given the district’s heavily Republican registration, narrowly led a field of six Republicans; she was the only abortion rights supporter among her party’s candidates. Because this election was the first political test of opinion since last month’s court decision, it drew national attention.

Four other elections later this month, including a legislative contest in South Carolina and special congressional elections in Texas and Florida, will similarly be watched as indicators of public sentiment on the abortion issue.

Meanwhile, the parade of candidates who have switched sides to endorse the pro-choice position grows longer. In Illinois, Neil F. Hartigan and in Massachusetts Francis X. Bellotti, both likely Democratic candidates for governor and both of whom defended anti-abortion laws in court as their states’ attorneys general, now say they support a woman’s right to choose on abortion. In New Jersey, the Republican candidate for governor in the fall election, Rep. James A. Courter, has dropped his anti-abortion stand. So has the leading Republican candidate for mayor of New York, Rudolph W. Giuliani.

None of this, of course, necessarily signals an irreversible trend. Abortion is only one issue among many likely to figure in most elections, and for many voters the abortion question is simply not of compelling concern. At the same time, though, signs are emerging that the Supreme Court’s July ruling won’t of itself open the way to sweeping legislative curbs on this vital right. This week’s special Assembly election is encouraging. Other pending elections in other states could expand the grounds for optimism that regressive legislative actions on abortion can be prevented.