Here is where Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain stands on some key issues ahead of Election Day.

Abortion

McCain opposes abortion rights. He calls Roe v. Wade a "flawed decision" and wants it overturned in order to return the question of abortion rights to the states. He voted consistently against federal funding for abortion; he once voted against Medicaid funds for abortion in cases of rape or incest. He voted to require parental consent for abortion and to criminalize anyone but a parent crossing state lines with a minor to help get an abortion. He supported a ban preventing women in the military from getting abortions with their own money at overseas military hospitals.

Climate

McCain believes that global warming is undeniable and that the country must take steps to bring it under control while adhering to free-market principles. He broke with President George W. Bush on global warming and led a Senate effort to cap greenhouse gas emissions. He favors offshore drilling and building 45 nuclear power reactors by 2030, but he opposes drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He wants mandatory reductions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by 60 percent from 1990 levels by 2050, using a market-based cap-and-trade system that would increase energy costs. He supports a $2 billion program to develop carbon capture and other "clean coal" research and development. He proposes a $5,000 tax credit for the purchase of zero carbon emission cars, and wants a $300 million prize for improved batteries for hybrid vehicles.

Financial Crisis

McCain would eliminate taxes on unemployment benefits, lower the tax rate on Individual Retirement Accounts and 401(k) plans to the lowest rate of 10 percent on the first $50,000 withdrawn and reduce the tax rate on capital gains to 7.5 percent for two years. McCain has proposed a $300 billion plan for the government to buy bad mortgages and renegotiate them at a reduced price. He favors a one-year suspension of requirements that people aged 70 1/2 begin cashing in retirement accounts. And he lobbied fellow lawmakers to support the $700 billion rescue plan.

Guns

McCain opposes gun-purchase waiting periods, bans on assault weapons, bans on specific types of ammunition, and holding gun manufacturers liable for crimes committed by third parties using a firearm. But he supports some laws and legislation that he calls "common sense" efforts to balance the Second Amendment with public safety concerns. He supports instant criminal background checks, requiring gun manufacturers to include gun safety devices such as trigger locks in product packaging, and mandatory penalties for criminals who use a firearm in the commission of a crime.

Health Care

McCain wants to allow people to buy health insurance nationwide instead of limiting them to in-state companies, and permit people to buy insurance through any organization or association they choose as well as through their employers or directly from an insurance company. He proposes a $2,500 refundable tax credit for individuals, $5,000 for families, to make health insurance more affordable. He wants no mandate for universal coverage. And he would no longer shield from income taxes those payments that businesses and their workers make toward employer-sponsored health insurance.

Immigration

McCain was a sponsor of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 and a similar bill in 2007 -- both defeated -- which included doubling the size of the border patrol; building more walls and deploying more high-tech surveillance on the southern border; creating a temporary worker visa program; cracking down on employers who hire illegal immigrants; and creating a path to citizenship (including penalties and fines) for those already living and working in the country. On the campaign trail he now says that hardening U.S. borders should take place before other efforts at changing immigration laws.

Iraq

As a senator, McCain voted in 2002 to authorize the use of military force in Iraq and has also voted to approve on-budget spending for the war. At the 2004 Republican National Convention, he said, "The mission was necessary, achievable and noble." But he has also criticized the administration's handling of the war's aftermath. In the GOP primary debate at Reagan library in May, McCain said, "The war was terribly mismanaged and we now have to fix a lot of the mistakes that were made." He's a vocal supporter of the current "surge" strategy.

Marriage

McCain believes the institution of marriage is a union between one man and one woman, and that questions about gay marriage and civil unions ought to be decided at the state level. McCain worked to ban gay marriage in Arizona, his home state. He supports the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. He opposed legislation to protect gay people from job discrimination or hate crimes. And he voted in favor the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996.

Taxes

McCain opposed temporary tax cuts enacted by President George W. Bush in his first term, and voted against extending them in 2007 because they did not rein in spending. He has since changed his position on the tax cuts, and now wants them made permanent. McCain favors repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax, cutting the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent, banning taxes on the Internet and on new cell phones. He supports raising the personal exemption for each dependent from $3,500 to $7,000. And he has talked of establishing an alternative, opt-in tax system that offers one "generous" deduction and a system that he says would be simpler to manage.