Forbes: Roe vs. Wade Must Go

Citing a shift in public opinion, Republican presidential candidate Steve Forbes says the landmark Supreme Court decision that affirmed a woman's right to abortion "is going to go." Roe vs. Wade, he says, "has not withstood the test of time well."

The candidate is going out of his way to please conservative critics, who had been leery of his position on this and similar issues in his 1996 campaign.

Forbes' push for the reversal of the 1973 decision legalizing abortion underscores his sharply conservative course. "I think Roe vs. Wade was a terribly argued decision that is going to go one way or the other," he says

Forbes' says he would choose federal judges according to their views on "adhering to the Constitution, including the belief in the sanctity of life." It is clear that views on abortion would be the ultimate test for any judicial appointee, including Supreme Court justices.

Abortion has become an important issue in the fight for the Republican presidential nomination. All of the GOP candidates say they oppose abortion, but there are differences in emphasis.

Moderate Republican candidates put less emphasis on the issue, arguing that public opinion won't back strict restrictions. Meanwhile, conservative GOP contenders say abortion should be a litmus test favoring nominees who support a constitutional amendment to ban the procedure.

Forbes says public opinion is shifting, and candidates ought to help that shift along, "There is growing support for restrictions, many Americans don't agree with the ultimate goal yet."

Though a woman's right to choose has been law for 25 years, Forbes says that right hasn't become accepted. "If you have made a wrong constitutional decision you shouldn't let it stand,"he says. "Just because bad law has been around for a while, you shouldn't leave it."