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The right-to-life plank has been a mainstay of the Republican Party platform for the last 15 years. But before his death last March, GOP chairman Lee Atwater warned that the party would have to become a "big tent" that included prochoice Republicans. Atwater's prophecy is coming true: the GOP's monolithic opposition to abortion is crumbling. But the resulting squabbles have left the party badly divided over an issue that could threaten the Republican dream of "realignment," of becoming the nation's majority party.
In Congress, GOP lawmakers are leading the fight to overturn the so-called gag rule that resulted from the Supreme Court's ban on abortion counseling in federally funded clinics. Young Republicans, meanwhile, upheld the GOP platform at their annual convention but refused to specifically endorse the pro-life plank. Attendees called it "a political liability." In Washington, party activists are mapping out a strategy to elect slates headed by pro-choice (and pro-Bush) "favorite daughters" to pressure the president at the '92 Republican convention. "This is going to make it much more difficult for the Bush administration to smooth things over," says Kathy Wilson, a GOP activist.
No one expects President Bush to shift his stance on abortion. Despite reports the White House wanted a compromise on the gag rule, aides say Bush will veto legislation that tampers with the court ruling. But his pro-life stance will cost the GOP. If, as many expect, the Supreme Court reverses Roe v. Wade, its 1973 decision giving women the right to an abortion, many young voters will blame Bush for filling the court with conservatives. The administration's rigid opposition to abortion also has repercussions in the area of medical research. Last week the House voted 274 to 144 to overturn a ban on using federal money for research that depends on fetal tissue from induced abortions. There is evidence that sufferers from such varied diseases as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and diabetes might benefit from such research. Bush is expected to veto the bill; an override is unlikely, but the numbers will be close enough to send Bush a message. Younger voters tend to see abortion as an issue of tolerance, not morality. "Those of us in power now have really never known it any other way," says GOP Rep. Susan Molinari, who was 15 when Roe v. Wade made abortion legal. 'The party is underestimating this as a gut, emotional issue."
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If the Republican Party wants to capitalize on its newfound popularity with young voters, most strategists believe it must modify its opposition to abortion. Conservative activist Ann Stone founded Republicans for Choice last year after a long dinner conversation with Atwater assessing GOP losses by anti-abortion candidates for governor in New Jersey and Virginia. "I wasn't directed by Lee to start this, but I did it with his blessing," says Stone. Some party moderates suspect Stone is "a cover" for the Bush administration to have it both ways on abortion. Mary Matalin, the Republican National Committee's chief of staff, fueled the intraparty suspicion when she conceded in an interview last week, "If we're talking big tent, it won't hurt for the Republican Party to be seen really struggling with this thing."
Going too far: Of course, expanding the tent is what politics is all about. Polls show that Americans think "activists on both sides go too far." In an attempt to moderate its "proabortion" image, the National Abortion Rights Action League has a new ad campaign that encourages adoption and stresses pregnancy prevention, declaring its goal is "to make abortion less necessary." On the other side, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops has followed the advice of public-relations advisers to revamp its approach. Stealing pro-choice words and symbols, the bishops' ads proclaim, "The natural choice is life," a slogan designed for the Pepsi generation, with the Statue of Liberty, a NARAL symbol, as the backdrop. GOP pollster Richard Wirthlin, who advises the bishops, says polarizing tactics-such as displaying fetuses and shutting down abortion clinics-are counterproductive. "Operation Rescue might as well have been funded by NARAL," says Wirthlin.
The battle will play out in prime time at next August's GOP convention in Houston. GOP Chairman Clayton Yeutter insists the party's pro-life plank will remain unchanged. Ann Stone, a direct-mail specialist for conservative causes, is just as adamant that the language be modified. "If there's going to be change, it has to come out of the conservative wing," she says. If the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade before the '92 convention, there could be a civil war in the GOP-and Bush will find they don't make tents big enough to stretch from Fort Sumter to Gettysburg.
To reach out to battle-fatigued Americans, both sides moderate images and drop polarizing tactics.
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