Gaping Gender Gap Divides First Family Over Abortion Issue

The Bush family is split along gender lines on the issue of abortion, Newsweek magazine reported, with George and Barbara heading the opposing camps.

President Bush and his wife discussed abortion at a recent get-together with their children and spouses and found all the men were anti-abortion and all the women were pro-choice, said the magazine, released Sunday. It did not name its source.

Bush opposes abortion except to save the mother’s life or in cases of rape or incest. He opposes federal funding of abortions except to save the mother’s life.

Some of the women at the Bush family gathering, including the First Lady, said abortion should not be without controls, but insisted on a woman’s right to choose in certain circumstances, the magazine said.

Barbara Bush has refused to answer reporters’ questions about her personal views on abortion.