Pro-Life Plank Has A Winning Record For GOP
By LISA SALCEDO
Lisa Salcedo is a free-lance writer and pro-life
activist based in Austin.
For years, abortion advocates have been
threatening the Republican Party. This year the
threat takes the form of a warning that unless the
pro-life plank is dropped from the party platform,
the GOP will lose control of the Congress and Bill
Clinton will be reelected.
Fortunately, the electoral record does not
support these claims. Polls reveal that a sub-
stantial majority of voters do not consider abor-
tion a major issue. And among voters for whom
abortion is the controlling issue, pro-life candi-
dates consistently have enjoyed a significant edge.
In 1988, President George Bush and Dan Quayle
ran on a solid pro-life ticket and soundly defeated
pro-abortion Democrat Michael Dukakis. In 1990,
pro-lifers Kirk Fordice of Mississippi and Guy Hunt
of Alabama became the first GOP governors of their
states in more than 100 years.
Republicans who deserted the party's pro-life
stance lost to pro-life Democrats as Govs. Bob
Casey of Pennsylvania and Joan Finney of Kansas,
bucked their party's pro-abortion stand and beat
pro-abortion Republicans.
In 1992, pro-life candidates received an eight
percent boost from Democrats who wouldn't vote for
a pro-abortion candidate according to a Wirthlin
poll. Among voters who "lean Republican" 19
percent said they would not vote for a pro-abortion
candidate compared to six percent who would vote
for the single issue of abortion -- a 13 point ad-
vantage for pro-life Republicans among voters who
care intensely about the issue. Independent voters
for whom abortion is the crucial issue split 23
percent for pro-life and 14 percent pro-abortion.
In the 1994 election the pro-life sentiment
intensified. Again citing Wirthlin figures, 71
percent said the abortion issue did not affect
their vote and of the 26 percent who said it did,
two thirds voted for pro-life. candidates. These
responses indicate that a pro-life stand is either
neutral or a positive advantage among 80 percent of
voters.
Of registered Republicans only 31 percent said
the abortion issue influenced their vote. Of
these, 80 percent backed pro-life candidates.
With the "gender gap" back in the news it's
useful to note that only 28 percent of women said
the abortion issue influenced their vote. Of these,
61 percent voted pro-life.
Going directly to the current controversy over
the GOP platform, 40 percent of GOP voters said
they would be less likely to vote Repubican if the
pro-life plank were deleted. Only 28 percent said
that they were more likely to vote Republican
without that plank and 25 percent didn't care.
Clearly, abortion and the platform's pro-life plank
are not the party splitting issues that liberals
and the media are claiming.
Wirthlin's figures provide an indication of how
the abortion issue affects the general election.
The poll found, for instance, that if the
Republican and Democratic candidates both favor
abortion, 37 percent will back the Democrat and 36
percent the Republican. But if the Republican
opposes abortion, his support rises to 45 percent
while the Democrat drops to 36 percent.
The actual election results reflect these poll
responses:
* No pro-life congressman, senator or governor
was defeated by a pro-abortion challenger.
* Of eleven new senators elected in 1994 only
one, Olympia Snowe of Maine, is pro-abortion.
* The House added about 40 pro-life members. Of
the 36 incumbents who were defeated, 34 were pro-
abortion. The two pro-life members who were
defeated were replaced by new pro-lifers.
The fact is, most Americans oppose most
abortions. Many polls show Americans opposed to
performing abortion in all but a few circumstances.
The GOP position on abortion strongly reflects what
the American people want. Republicans would be wise
to keep a platform plank stance that favors pro-
tecting unborn children. It's the right thing to do
and politically smart.