GOP Hopefuls Debate Abortion Across Iowa

From distant corners of Iowa, Republican presidential rivals used the 27th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s legalization of abortion to snipe at each other’s stands Saturday, zeroing in on conservatives’ uneasiness with Texas Gov. George W. Bush’s commitment to the perennial GOP issue.

While Bush defensively insisted he supports the Republican Party’s call for a constitutional amendment banning all abortions, he took heat for downplaying the matter from rivals Steve Forbes and Gary Bauer.

Bush defended his stance on abortion on televised talk shows and in encounters with reporters as he made an arc across the state from Sioux City to Davenport two days before the crucial Iowa caucus votes. Asked directly if he supports a 1996 GOP convention plank that promotes a constitutional “human rights” amendment banning abortion in any circumstances, Bush said: “Yes, I would.”

Preferring to mute the polarizing debate over abortion, Bush has tried to steer the Republican campaign away from blunt talk on the issue. But in recent days, as Forbes, Bauer and several other contenders have ratcheted up the volume on the issue, Bush has been reluctantly forced to define his stance.

Bush has said that he personally supports a constitutional ban that would, in essence, overturn the landmark 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision legalizing abortion. But he also doubts that a divided nation would unite behind such a move.

While the front-runner has declined to insist that his running mate and judicial appointments--if he becomes the nominee--would promise to oppose abortion, Forbes has taken those pledges and emphasizes their contrasts in his television ads aired across Iowa.

When told about Bush’s comments on CNN that he would support the GOP plank on abortion, Forbes quickly suggested Bush had not gone far enough.

“I’m delighted that after prodding from myself and others that he’s finally made a commitment there,” said Forbes. “Now if he’d just make a commitment on the pro-life running mate and pro-life judges and work to overturn Roe vs. Wade, he’s going to be [on] his way to a real education.”

It was a neat role reversal for Forbes, who was himself broadsided by Christian conservative activists when he ran for president four years ago for lukewarm support of an abortion ban. Forbes has worked hard to toughen that Achilles’ heel over the last year and now projects himself as an uncompromising crusader for social conservative principles.

Forbes had a brief scare as his campaign jet tried to land at an airstrip in Mason City. Blowing snow forced the pilot to pull up on two approaches before the jet finally landed. “The weather couldn’t stop us, and the political establishment is not going to stop us,” he said, emerging shakily from the plane.

Speaking at an infant graveyard, Bauer derided Forbes as a Johnny-come-lately on abortion, saying that “if Steve Forbes finds my material attractive and wants to continue to quote me, that’s fine.” Bauer said he was glad to hear Bush’s comments on the GOP platform. But he added that “we’ve got to show after all these years of making no progress that we’re serious about this.”

Even President Clinton weighed in on the issue Saturday, noting that Bush’s support of the GOP’s abortion ban marks the clear delineation between the two parties for the general election. “There is absolutely no question in my mind [that] whether Roe vs. Wade is preserved or scrapped depends on what happens in the presidential election, and to pretend otherwise is naive,” Clinton told Democratic Party donors in Los Angeles.

The next president will likely name more than two justices to the Supreme Court, Clinton said. That could tip the balance in favor of overturning the 1973 decision.

Bush spokeswoman Mindy Tucker noted that Bush, at the same time, has said that “America is not ready” now for such an amendment, “and in the meantime we should all work to reduce the number of abortions in America.”

Sen. John McCain of Arizona, meanwhile, traversed South Carolina to pick up key demographic groups, including Christian conservatives, Democrats inclined to cross party lines and affluent coastal residents. McCain focused on defense issues and emphasized his plans to increase military pay and improve veterans’ care. The state holds its primary Feb. 19.

Times staff writers Stephen Braun in Des Moines, Anne-Marie O’Connor with Bauer and T. Christian Miller with McCain contributed to this story.