Abortion-rights group accuses Dole, Bush of camouflaging views

By Ron Fournier, Associated Press, March 22, 1999

WASHINGTON -- A national abortion-rights group is running television ads in Iowa and New Hampshire that accuse two Republican presidential candidates of camouflaging their antiabortion positions.

Texas Governor George W. Bush and former American Red Cross president Elizabeth Dole are the targets of the campaign by the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League.

The ads, to begin airing this week, use the candidates' own words to show their opposition to abortion, said NARAL director Kate Michelman.

"George W. Bush opposes a woman's right to choose. Elizabeth Dole opposes a women's right to choose. But they both know they must communicate more moderate views in order to be elected," she said.

Ironically, Bush and Dole are under attack by antiabortion groups that doubt their commitment to ending abortions.

Michelman would not say how much money the group was spending on the campaign or how often the ads would run. The ads were set to be made public today at a news conference in Washington.

Bush has said he is opposed to abortion with exceptions only to save the life of the mother or in cases of rape or incest. Though he personally would like abortion to be outlawed, he said Americans' "hearts are not right" on the issue.