Dole Restates Abortion View Letter To Christian Right Clarifies Sunday Comments

Accused of wavering from the GOP’s strict anti-abortion platform, GOP presidential front-runner Bob Dole sought Monday to reassure hard-line conservative voters of his commitment to outlawing abortion.

The flap comes just as the presidential campaign heats up in early-contest states where conservatives comprise a key voting bloc.

“My record has been consistent - consistently pro-life,” Dole said in a letter to Christian Coalition director Ralph Reed Monday.

Dole’s letter, emphasizing his support for a constitutional amendment banning “abortion on demand,” came in response to a tatement issued by Reed accusing Dole of a “stunning reversal” on abortion in comments made over the weekend.

Dole said on Sunday that he would not support a constitutional amendment to ban all abortions, which has been part of the GOP platform since 1980.

“I supported that at one time. I would not do it again,” Dole told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” He clarified Monday that he still supports a constitutional amendment restricting abortion “subject to the widely-accepted exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother.”

Though Dole has consistently said he supports such exceptions, it was the first time he explicitly opposed the platform plank. Christian conservatives were quick to pounce on him Monday.

“I am profoundly disappointed,” said Reed, an influential voice in the 1.6 million-member Christian Coalition. “Senator Dole is the only leading candidate who has declined to sign a pledge that he supports the pro-life plank…. That action, combined with this weekend’s comments, raise serious questions about his views on this most vital issue.”

Dole said Sunday he didn’t want the abortion debate to be a dominant issue in the presidential campaign, adding that, “I want to multiply Republicans, not divide (them).”

Similar sentiment comes from a faction of GOP conservatives who want to abandon the party’s strict plank in favor of a call to reduce abortion “through aggressive, though voluntary, and non-coercive means.”

That softening approach, outlined in this week’s conservative Weekly Standard magazine, has been hailed by former education secretary William Bennett as a pragmatic alternative to a constitutional amendment, which he contends has “done nothing to reduce the number of abortions.”

But Republican pollster Linda DiVall said symbolism is important to voters, particularly in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, which have early caucuses and primaries.