Let's Have It Both Ways

By DAVID ELLIS

G.O.P. political advisers, worried about the widespread dissatisfaction among Republican women about a possible rollback in abortion rights, have persuaded George Bush to further soften his statements on the issue. Private polls have charted increased concern among women since the Supreme Court upheld the government's right to deny federal funding to family-planning clinics that mention the abortion option. Then came the disclosure of "pro- life" comments by court nominee Clarence Thomas. Last week Bush emphasized that the party is a "big tent" with room for varied views, even though its platform essentially considers abortion to be murder. "What we're saying," cracks a Bush adviser, "is that our party tent is big enough to include murderers."

With reporting by Sidney Urquhart