ANCHESTER, N.H. - The abortion issue surfaced again yesterday in the presidential campaign after Senator John McCain, answering a hypothetical question about what he would do if his 15-year-old daughter had an unwanted pregnancy, said, ''The final decision would be made by Meghan.''
But the Arizona Republican, already under fire from conservatives who accuse him of not being staunchly against abortion, quickly clarified his statement.
''I misspoke,'' he said. ''What I believe I was saying is that this is a family decision. This family decision will be made by the family and not by Meghan alone. And other than that, I believe it is a private family matter. I am sorry if there was any confusion.''
For McCain, it was not the first controversy on the issue. Last summer, McCain told the San Francisco Chronicle that he would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade because it would force women to have ''illegal and dangerous operations.'' Under a hail of criticism, McCain reembraced his earlier support for repealing the 1973 decision.
Other antiabortion candidates have struggled with similar questions. McCain's answer, in fact, is almost identical to Vice President Dan Quayle's stand in 1992. Asked the same hypothetical question about his daughter, Quayle said he would support her if she decided to have an abortion. Quayle also quickly backpedaled.
Even Steve Forbes, whose rhetoric has been stridently antiabortion, has been inconsistent on the issue. In 1996, when Forbes focused his campaign on his flat tax proposal, the publisher's statements on abortion were often ambiguous.
The issue comes as independent voters and perhaps some moderate Democrats are deciding whom to vote for in Tuesday's primary. One deciding factor for those voters may be candidate views on abortion rights.
Republican contender Alan Keyes, a fierce opponent of abortion, said yesterday that McCain's clarification still suggested some element of choice would be involved. He said that if one of his daughters were in that situation, there will be no doubt about carrying the baby to term.
''My daughter has been raised to believe that that's God's decision and that it's already been made, and therefore I have no fear of what she would do,'' he said.
During the Republican debate last night, Keyes continued his criticism of McCain's response and pressed him on the issue.
McCain answered by pointing to his voting record. ''I am proud of that prolife record, and I will continue to maintain it,'' he said. ''I will not draw my children into this discussion.''
''And I am completely comfortable of the fact that as the leader of a prolife party, with a prolife position, that I will persuade...young Americans [to] understand the importance of the preservation of the rights of the unborn,'' McCain said.
Given a chance to rebut Keyes later in the debate, a clearly seething McCain added: ''I've seen enough killing in my life. I know how precious human life is. And I don't need a lecture from you.''
Keyes replied: ''I didn't lecture you, Senator McCain. I simply pointed out that ... your answer showed no understanding of the issue of moral principle involved in abortion. And that inadequacy is not a lecture, it's simply an observation of fact.''
Governor George W. Bush of Texas also has faced frequent questions about his antiabortion convictions. Earlier in the campaign he was asked what he would do if one of his relatives faced a decision about whether to abort a pregnancy that resulted from rape. ''It would be up to her,'' he said.
During last night's debate, Bush said that every child, ''born and unborn, should be protected in law,'' but said the Republican Party should welcome those with different views.
At an earlier debate, conservative activist Gary Bauer said that under circumstances of rape he would pray for his daughter ''and explain to her that she couldn't make right the terrible thing that had happened to her by taking the life of her innocent, unborn child.''
However, the personal nature of the question earlier in the day upset McCain and his wife, Cindy, who said they were going to call their daughter in Phoenix, as well as warn the Catholic school she attends that the campaign had involved her.
The hypothetical issue arose yesterday morning during a freewheeling discussion about abortion, an increasingly common topic on the campaign trail.
McCain said he would not impose an abortion litmus test on Supreme Court nominees.
A reporter then asked whether, if his daughter had an unwanted pregnancy, ''would you tell her that she could not get an abortion?''
''No,'' McCain said. ''I would discuss this issue with Cindy and Meghan. It would be a private family discussion that we would share within our family and not with anyone else. Obviously, I would encourage her to know that the baby would be brought up in a warm and loving family. The final decision would be made by Meghan with our advice and counsel.''
When pressed on whether his answer reflected acceptance of a woman's right to choose whether to abort or carry a pregnancy to term. McCain said it was not.
''I don't think it's the choice position to say that my daughter, my wife, and I are going to discuss something that is a family matter,'' he said. ''I'm not going to talk about what I'm going to do with my daughter in the most personal and painful kind of a situation that I can imagine, outside of a terminal illness.''
Later in the discussion, McCain added that he is ''prolife, and I will continue to hold that view, but there are areas that are sacred to the family, and that's one of them.''
About 90 minutes after McCain issued his revised statement, his wife Cindy became upset when a reporter asked him to clarify whether he would allow his daughter to terminate a pregnancy in the case of rape or incest, exceptions he endorses.
''We have a 15-year-old daughter,'' Cindy McCain said, shaking her head and struggling to hold back tears. Senator McCain, clearly shaken, added: ''I simply will not discuss those aspects of this issue.''
Although McCain has repeatedly said he is against abortion, in recent days he has stated he would seek to change the GOP platform to allow abortion in cases of rape, incest, and a threat to the life of the mother.
