Abortion--Vote Viewed as a Test

In a prelude to the 1990 elections, pro-choice and anti-abortion forces are testing their political muscles in a special election to fill an Assembly seat in a conservative Southern California district.

The Aug. 8 election will be among the first state legislative contests in the country since the U.S. Supreme Court gave states new powers to regulate abortions. Pro-choice groups hope to capture the seat and use the victory to send a message to politicians across the state and nation.

“If we can win in this district, we can win anywhere,” said Robin Schneider, director of the California Abortion Rights Action League’s Southern California chapter.

Abortion opponents have resisted framing the contest as a referendum on the volatile issue. But they nevertheless have jumped into the fray. Two prominent anti-abortion organizations have backed candidates, and one of the groups plans to launch an independent effort in support of its candidate.

Complicating matters is a split among Assembly Republicans about whom to support in the primary. Another factor will be the unusual rules governing special election primaries, which allow Democratic voters, who are vastly outnumbered in the district, to vote for a Republican candidate.

This “cross-over vote” could be the key to the election’s outcome. The Abortion Rights Action League, and probably the National Organization for Women, will be urging their members--Democrats and Republicans--to vote for Patricia Hunter of Bonita, a Republican and a registered nurse who supports the unfettered right of women to obtain abortions and also backs public funding of abortions for poor women.

Tracking the Results

Linda Joplin, statewide coordinator for California NOW, said the group is monitoring every legislative race in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Webster decision. Although the July 3 court ruling did not change California law on abortion, many activists believe it could open the door to more legislative restrictions. The Legislature is narrowly divided on the issue.

Because the 76th Assembly district--stretching from southern Riverside County through the middle of San Diego County almost to the Mexican border--is overwhelmingly Republican, the two Democrats on the ballot are thought to have little chance of winning. So the pro-choice groups, which usually side with Democrats, are supporting Republican Hunter.

“The opportunity to elect a pro-choice Republican to the Legislature is an opportunity that doesn’t come along very often,” Joplin said. She said her group probably will endorse Hunter, contribute to her campaign and conduct an independent mailing to its members in the district.

Schneider, of the abortion rights league, said her organization hopes to capitalize on the renewed feminist fervor generated by the court decision. She said the group, which in the past has limited its involvement to making endorsements and donating to campaigns, is identifying pro-choice voters with the goal of getting them to the polls for Hunter on election day.

“This is something completely different and new for us,” Schneider said. “It is only possible because there is a very heightened concern about this issue.”

Support From Nurses

Hunter, who was appointed by Gov. George Deukmejian to two terms on the state Board of Nursing, also enjoys the backing of the pro-choice California Nurses Assn., which so far has spent about $60,000 on her behalf.

Schneider conceded that the pro-choice groups have little to lose in this contest, because the district had been represented since 1982 by the late Assemblyman Bill Bradley (R-San Marcos). Bradley, who died in May, was solidly anti-abortion.

If Hunter wins, the abortion rights group will portray the result as a precedent-setting victory for its side. If Hunter loses, Schneider said, pro-choice strength in the Assembly will be unchanged and the group will chalk up its effort as a “learning experience.”

“It is a dry run for the 1990 elections,” she said.

Anti-abortion groups, meanwhile, are downplaying the confrontation.

“They (pro-choice groups) are going in with flags waving,” said Brian Johnston, director of the National Right to Life Committee’s California operation. “We’re not taking that kind of position. Every race is important to us.”

Sources of Support

Johnston’s group has endorsed Poway businessman Dick Lyles, who opposes abortion and believes that life begins at conception. Johnston said the organization has contributed to Lyles’ campaign and also plans some kind of independent expenditure, possibly a mailing, on his behalf.

Lyles also enjoys the backing of Assembly Republican Leader Ross Johnson of La Habra, who opposes abortion. Last week, Johnson sent a letter to major GOP contributors supporting Lyles and hinting that Hunter might not be a loyal Republican.

Another Republican, Poway City Councilwoman Linda Brannon, has been endorsed by about half a dozen Assembly Republicans who long have been at odds with Johnson and his closest allies in the GOP caucus. The lawmakers are helping Brannon raise the campaign contributions that are crucial in a short special election race.

While personally opposed to abortion, Brannon says she would support abortions only under limited circumstances. Opposed to public funding for abortions, she proposes expanding adoption programs and perhaps creating “college-type campuses for pregnant women” where job-training skills would be taught during pregnancy.

With Hunter receiving support that typically goes to Democrats, supporters of Lyles and Brannon say they fear the anti-abortion resources will be divided, not only between themselves, but also between three lesser-known GOP candidates.

Notable among the three is Bill Hoover, a San Diego police lieutenant, who is backed by many members of the local chapter of Operation Rescue, the militant anti-abortion group that has blocked the doors of abortion clinics throughout the country.

The Rev. Billy Falling, head of the Escondido-based Christian Voters League, a fundamentalist political-religious group, said he is concerned that the Right to Life Committee’s endorsement of Lyles “brings confusion to the pro-life camp and threatens to divide the pro-life vote.” Falling has endorsed Hoover, whom he described as an “uncompromising pro-life candidate.”

Two other Republicans in the race--state Senate aide Dennis Koolhaas and retired businessman Ray Foster--also oppose abortion.

Both Democrats in the race--Jeannine Correia, an instructor for the mentally retarded, and mental health worker Stephen Thorne--support the pro-choice position. But neither candidate has yet attracted the endorsements or resources to mount an aggressive campaign.

The primary election, which will be held the same day as two legislative contests in Missouri, has already attracted national attention because of the abortion fight. A network television crew has taped a segment on the campaign that is scheduled to air this week, and national activists on both sides will be eyeing the outcome anxiously.

Johnston, of the Right to Life Committee, is already promising to rub the result in the noses of the pro-choice groups if Hunter does not win.

“They say that this is a hallmark race, that it is going to demonstrate how the unlimited abortion position is somehow a positive position to have in electoral politics,” Johnston said. “Let’s make sure they’re saying the same thing when they lose. The sword does have to cut both ways.”