In fact, if anything, the definition of abortion seems to be widening and the religious objections expanding. In Texas and other parts of the country, pharmacists are refusing to dispense birth control pills — not just the "morning after pill" but standard birth control pills. They argue that birth control pills sometimes allow an egg to be fertilized, and that when this happens a secondary mechanism of the pill kicks in, preventing the fertilized egg from implanting in the womb. In effect, the egg is aborted.

Scientists say it happens very rarely, but pharmacists who believe that life begins at conception are not willing to take the chance. They have formed a group called Pharmacists for Life.

Four states — Mississippi, South Dakota, Colorado and Arkansas — also allow pro-life pharmacists to refuse to give a referral to another pharmacist who will fill the prescription.

There are no reports of any Utah pharmacists refusing to fill birth control prescriptions, says Reid Barker, executive director of the Utah Pharmacists Association, although he says there are a few Utahns who are members of Pharmacists for Life.

Melissa McDaniel, a pharmacist at Jolley Pharmacy in Salt Lake City, says she has not heard of any local pharmacists refusing to fill birth control prescriptions. She says she would have heard if it were an issue in Utah because the owners of her pharmacy are LDS. "We don't have any conviction against birth control," she said. In most women, most of the time, birth control pills prevent fertilization, she says.

Many doctors and many religious leaders, even those who are pro-life, have not come to terms with the issue. At medical meetings, the U.'s Dr. Stanford sometimes talks about the possible "abortifacient" effect of birth control pills and finds physicians haven't thought much about it. The biggest objections to his message come from doctors who are Christian and pro-life, he says. "They prescribe the pill and can't admit this could be a possibility."

The Rev. Russell believes the pills definitely have the potential to keep a fertilized egg from implanting. But it is nothing he talks about when he counsels couples who are about to get married. "That is a tough question. It's a tough thing to think about. Normally we don't compare abortion to birth control pills."

Some conservatives see Bush's election as a mandate to end abortion completely.

They hope for new U.S. Supreme Court appointments who will overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that made abortion legal.

Even if this doesn't happen, conservatives continue to chip away at Roe v. Wade. Last month the U.S. Senate approved a $388 billion spending bill that included a last-minute provision to bar states from enforcing laws requiring hospitals and insurers to pay for, provide or give referrals for abortions, even in cases of rape and medical emergency. A bipartisan group of female senators has lined up in opposition to the provision, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune.