5 GOP Hopefuls Decry Abortion at Iowa Meeting : Politics: Candidates seeking Right to Life group’s backing find distinctions in their stand against the procedure.

DES MOINES — Republican presidential candidates courted anti-abortion activists Saturday, finding distinctions in their opposition to the procedure but pledging “the politics of conviction.”

“There are differences in this house of conservatism,” said commentator Patrick J. Buchanan.

Buchanan and Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas spoke at a convention of the Iowa Right to Life Committee, while Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander and commentator Alan Keyes used telephone links to make their pitches.

Dole, the front-runner in the GOP race, was the most often criticized, but he argued that his opposition to abortion has been the most consistent.

“I have had a consistent record long before some of the candidates had thought about this issue,” he said. “My record goes back further than any other candidate.”

In varying degrees, all five oppose abortion, though Alexander made it clear he would leave the issue of restrictions to the states.

Buchanan attacked Dole and Gramm, saying he would pick an abortion foe as his running mate. He also said he would fight to keep anti-abortion language in the party platform and name justices to the Supreme Court who would overturn decisions legalizing abortion.

“That is the minimum you ask in a candidate,” Buchanan said. “I think you ought to get Phil Gramm and Bob Dole to make that commitment.”

Gramm pledged to name “a strong conservative” as his running mate but said “I didn’t come here to disqualify--I came here to reach out.”

Keyes said abortion is the central issue facing the nation. Social ills such as crime and poverty stem from access to abortion, he said.