NEWS STORY: Abortion Opposition, Off Center Stage, Still at Heart of GOP Activists

c. 2004 Religion News Service NEW YORK _ Barely mentioned in the Republican National Convention’s prime-time speeches, restricting abortion remains at the heart of what motivates religious conservatives, said attendees of the convention’s anti-abortion events. Most such events, sprinkled throughout the week, were away from the television cameras that captured a prime-time lineup of moderate […]

c. 2004 Religion News Service

NEW YORK _ Barely mentioned in the Republican National Convention’s prime-time speeches, restricting abortion remains at the heart of what motivates religious conservatives, said attendees of the convention’s anti-abortion events.

Most such events, sprinkled throughout the week, were away from the television cameras that captured a prime-time lineup of moderate Republican speakers who support abortion rights.


If those speakers represented the majority of the GOP, said Suzanne Hudgens, 61, of Athens, Ga., she would quit the party and join a more socially conservative alternative, such as the Constitution Party.

But Hudgens is not only a Republican, but an enthusiastic activist, encouraged that the party’s platform this year remained solidly anti-abortion.

“The social issues are why I’m a Republican,” said Hudgens as she waited in line Wednesday to enter a barricaded Tavern on the Green restaurant in Central Park, where a $125-a-plate anti-abortion event was held. “These are the issue that will determine if we stand or fall. If life isn’t important, we’re on a slippery slope downward.”

At the event, 80-year-old Phyllis Schlafly, chairwoman of the Republican National Coalition for Life, honored fellow anti-abortion activists, including best-selling author and conservative columnist Ann Coulter, 34, who entertained the crowd of several hundred with her characteristic biting humor.

“The Republican Party is pro-life,” said Coulter, wearing a body-hugging violet dress with a hemline above mid-thigh. “The Democratic Party is the party of violating each of the 10 Commandments one by one.”

Alluding to some Democrats’ opposition to the Boy Scouts’ refusal to admit gay members, Coulter said Democrats may soon want “to skip a step and abort Boy Scouts before they come in.”

Such rhetoric differed greatly from what national television audiences heard in official speeches, but that didn’t seem to bother Earl Unruh of Paris, Texas, whose wife is a delegate at the convention. He said he realized the rare mention of abortion in prime time was part of a strategy to appeal to moderate swing voters.


“I think they have to realize that this is a national audience we’re talking to in a close election, and it’s very important we elect President Bush,” Unruh said. “But we shouldn’t jeopardize our principles,” he quickly added.

Other religious conservatives at the event agreed, saying even though they feel it is a critical issue, it was enough for the party to oppose abortion in its platform rather than putting it front and center.

“I consider abortion the major issue in choosing a person to vote for, and the Republican Party has put on their platform that they support the right to life,” said Priscilla O’Connell, a Roman Catholic physician from Franklin Square, N.Y.

Lorraine La Neve, a former abortion clinic nurse who became an anti-abortion activist, said she knows that as long as Bush is in office, abortion foes have an advocate in the White House.

“I stand with President Bush because I see his heart. And I see him as a man who honors Christ, who loves his Lord and is in the word,” said La Neve, who lives in Wanaque, N.J., referring to the Bible.

Bob Schindler, brother of Terri Schiavo, the brain-damaged Florida woman at the center of a nationally publicized controversy, said his family has always opposed abortion. He said he supports Bush because of his anti-abortion stance.


“I’m very conscious of who I’m voting for and making sure the person I’m voting for is very strong on pro-life issues or else there’s no way I’m going near them,” Schindler said.

Susan Swanson, an alternate delegate from North Augusta, S.C., said making abortion a central issue in the campaign could do more harm than good at the ballot box.

She praised a speech by former Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Dole for stressing the abortion issue, but that was not televised by the major networks because it was out of prime time.

Swanson said she didn’t expect prime-time speakers to address the issue because “you can’t get up there and do that unless you want to start a big war.”

A former Republican presidential candidate at the event said he is confident in Bush’s opposition to abortion.

“Anybody in this party that wants to someday have the party mantle to run for president understands that to get that mantle they are going to have to deal with the base in this party, which is overwhelmingly pro-life and pro-family,” said Gary Bauer, who ran for president in 2000.


DEA/PH END KING/OKEEFE

Donate to Support Independent Journalism!

Donate Now!