WHAT I WILL TELL THE REPUBLICANS IN HOUSTON; AN OPEN LETTER TO REPUBLICAN PARTY DELEGATES FROM THE NATIONAL CHAIRMAN OF REPUBLICANS FOR CHOICE

Ann Stone is national chairman of Republicans for Choice.

Dear Friends,

You are the people who will decide the fate of our Party this November.

I do not envy you, your position. You have a tough and tricky decision to make. You may not see it that way, but rest assured, what you decide may well mean victory or defeat for George Bush and a multitude of Republican candidates this November and beyond.

Let me spell out for you in a non-emotional, factual way what I believe is at stake.

Some of what I have to say may surprise you, considering the name of our organization...so I hope even if you think you don't agree with us, you at least hear me out.

I will also suggest a course of action to you: our Party can and should take on this sensitive issue that could go a long way to heal our Party's wounds. Let me explain...

We here at Republicans For Choice do not want our Party, the Republican Party, to be a Party that advocates abortion...in fact, we want our Party to be the Party of fewer abortions.

We want the GOP to support and advocate programs and policies that will really reduce abortion by removing the cause and need for abortion to begin with.

Right now, our Party Platform offers only the solution of making abortion illegal. But the legality of abortion is not its cause unwanted pregnancies are. So we need to be the party of leadership and guidance; not through legislation endangering the lives of all women, but through education (both sex ed and abstinence taught side by side), contraceptive research, better family planning and a more extensive support network for single parents of both sexes.

These programs represent areas of wide agreement between people who find themselves on both sides of this issue. You see, to be Republican and Pro-Choice does not mean you are an advocate of abortion. It simply means that you feel the best way to solve the problem is through inspiration and leadership, rather than legislation.

And after all, isn't that the Republican way? Isn't it the Democrats that look to government and legislation as the solution and cure all for our nation's ills?

How can we as Republicans say we trust executives to make decisions every day that affect millions of Americans...yet we are not able to trust a woman or her family to make this most personal and private decision?

Let me also cite some history on the rise and fall on the abortion rate to further make my point.

Martin Olansky in his article in (ital) Policy Review entitled "Victorian Secrets" relates some of the history from the 1800s on this issue.

Make no mistake about it Olansky is not pro-choice, yet he admonishes the "pro-life" movement to look to the past to see that laws were "virtually useless" in bringing down the abortion rate in the last century.

It's quite interesting because Olansky makes the point that the (ital) abortion rate (per capita) during the civil war was almost exactly what it is today. He went on to say that programs as I outlined earlier such as contraceptive research and contraception, programs that support the families and unwed mothers as well as adoption alternatives are what brought the abortion rate down dramatically.

Again, he emphasizes that laws were virtually useless.

Why do we not have a Party Platform that truly reflects programs that will reduce abortion a solution to the problem that reflects the Republican way of doing things with less government interference in our lives and through programs that will rebuild the family and restore individual initiative and self esteem.

Isn't that the Republican way?

But now let us go beyond the fact that our current party position is in contradiction to the basic Republican philosophy of non-government interference. Let us look at the political ramifications of the Party's continued anti-choice position as it is now stated.

It is a grave miscalculation to believe the oft-repeated phrase of the other side, that the anti-choice stance has been "a winning platform." The facts simply do not bear that out.

If this truly were a winning platform for the Republican Party, then why has the Party lost ground, not gained ground since 1980?

We have fewer Congressmen, fewer Senators and fewer Governors. And since Webster in 1989, things seem to be getting worse.

Voters who identify themselves as pro-choice are becoming more and more single issue voters. Single issue voters committed to voting against Republican candidates because of their presumed anti-choice position.

But yet, we do not and will not ask President Bush, or anyone else, whose views differ from ours, to change their position. Nor do we advocate that our Party not welcome, or support candidates who represent the pro-life/anti-choice position.

While (ital) they (ital) have invited us out of our Party, (ital) we welcome them (ital) with open arms. We respect their right to hold a position that differs from ours. (ital) That is their choice.

Further, both sides agree that any candidate who waffles, or tries to change their position on this sensitive issue, will be defeated, regardless of where they end up on the issue. (ital) Wafflers lose!

So again, we don't advocate the President change his position, but rather he show that he is a statesman and that his anti-choice followers are savvy enough to understand they cannot win without the support of the millions in the Party that are pro-choice that we are the majority.

And make no mistake about it the majority of Republicans are self described as pro-choice. To back that statement up, let me cite the (ital) Times/Mirror Study done in November 1991. This Survey was not done for any group on either side of the issue, but rather done as an independent study where abortion was one of many issues surveyed.

The (Ital) Times/Mirror did not have any ax to grind when conducting this survey. Their survey was one of the largest and most substantial ever done with Party designation. Their survey showed that 70.5 percent of those who were Republicans, as well as 71.6 percent of those who said they leaned Republican self-identified as pro-choice.

Last time I looked, 70+ percent constituted a majority.

The current language on abortion in our Platform caters to a very vocal and highly organized minority.

It is a group that I would like to see stay part of our Party. But it is a group that should not dictate to, or hold hostage, the central Republican principle of less government interference in our private lives.

There is a lot in my letter for you to think about. And I hope you will give it all due consideration. This is an issue that we must work out without emotion, listening to all sides if our Party is to survive.

The situation we face this year demands that we consider the ramifications of this issue and our Platform (ital) very carefully.

If we fail, if you fail, we risk alienating a large body of voters that could very well spell the margin of victory or defeat for George Bush and hundreds of Republican candidates at all levels this November and beyond.

I hope I have the opportunity to meet with you and your fellow delegates to discuss this issue before you vote.

As John Stewart Mill once said, "There is always hope when people are forced to listen to both sides of the issue."

Thank you for your time and consideration in hearing me out.