CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS / U.S. SENATE : Seymour’s Lobbying Fails--2 Abortion Rights Groups Back Feinstein

Democrat Dianne Feinstein won the endorsements of two prominent abortion rights groups Friday, dealing a setback to her Republican opponent, Sen. John Seymour, who has been working hard to establish his credentials with women concerned about the issue.

Even though an aide said the Republican was not surprised by the endorsements, Seymour had openly sought the support of the California Abortion Rights Action League, which counts 80,000 members statewide, and the National Abortion Rights Action League, with 750,000 members nationwide.

The endorsements by the powerful groups carry a maximum $5,000 contribution from the groups and the support of a small army of volunteers who say they are fighting mad over efforts by President Bush and the Republican Party to ban abortion. The announcements also seemed to undermine Seymour’s effort to convince voters that he is just as committed as Feinstein to abortion rights.

Officials of the two groups said they did not trust Seymour as much as Feinstein on the issue. They noted that Seymour had flip-flopped, switching to the abortion rights side in 1989, and that he had voted to confirm U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who has voted with a court minority to overturn the landmark Roe vs. Wade decision that legalized abortion for women nationwide.

Kate Michelman, president of the national abortion rights group, introduced Feinstein at a Los Angeles news conference as “a strong, and unwavering pro-choice leader. . . . She is the pro-choice standard bearer, the clear choice and the best choice in this race.”

Michelman said her members thought that Feinstein was “the only one they can trust to work to protect this fundamental freedom.”

Feinstein called the endorsements “extraordinarily important to me.”

A Seymour spokesman, Jeff Weir, played down the importance of the support, saying the two groups frequently favor Democrats.

The California Abortion Rights Action League this year has given the bulk of its support to Democrats, but it has endorsed 19 Republicans in the 150 state and federal legislative races. CARAL, as it is known, has made four dual endorsements in congressional races, supporting candidates of both parties.

Earlier, both the California group and the National Abortion Rights Action League announced support for Rep. Barbara Boxer in her U.S. Senate race against radio and television commentator Bruce Herschensohn, a vocal opponent of abortion rights.

Weir said the chief difference between Seymour and Feinstein was over the confirmation of Thomas. Feinstein has said that if elected, she would not vote to confirm a justice who was opposed to abortion rights for women.

“They obviously are using a litmus test for judicial nominations, and Sen. Seymour will never impose a litmus tests on judges,” Weir said.

As for the state and national abortion rights groups, Weir said, “They don’t lose either way. John Seymour has been 100% pro-choice. He has always voted their way. John makes no apologies.” He cited Seymour’s co-sponsorship of the pending national Freedom of Choice Act, which would codify Roe vs. Wade, opposition to the so-called gag rules that prevent federally funded health care workers from advising women on abortion rights, and support of funding for family planning centers and research using fetal tissue.

Referring to Seymour’s vote for Thomas’ appointment, Kam Kuwata, a Feinstein aide, said, “Seymour helped put the next to the last nail in the coffin of Roe vs. Wade, and people who are pro-choice cannot take a risk and trust someone like that.”