Bush offers abortion protesters support

WASHINGTON -- President Bush told abortion foes Monday he shared their support for "a culture of life" and claimed progress in passing legislation to protect the vulnerable.\n"We need most of all to change hearts and that is what we're doing," Bush said, as anti-abortion activists marked the 32nd anniversary of the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion with a day of rallies, protests and other activities.\nThe issue took on new urgency with the likelihood of a high court vacancy.\nBush addressed marchers by phone from the presidential retreat at Camp David, Md., where he had spent the weekend.\nEvery anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision, prompts demonstrations by opponents and proponents of abortion rights. Activists on both sides of the abortion issue marched in demonstrations across the country Saturday, the actual anniversary of the Jan. 23 decision.\nThis year there is increasing speculation about Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist's health. Three other justices have had cancer.\nOne or more court vacancies would give President Bush the chance to install another justice or justices who oppose the Roe decision, increasing the likelihood that at some point, the ruling could be overturned.\nBush conceded that a society "where every child is welcome ... may still be some way away."\nStill, he said, he was working with Congress to pass "good, solid legislation to protect the vulnerable." He cited his signing of legislation last year to outlaw certain late-term abortions.\n"You know, we come from many different backgrounds, but what unites us is our understanding that the essence of civilization is this: The strong have a duty to protect the weak," Bush said. He has said he supports a constitutional amendment to outlaw abortion but has not actively pushed for it.\nBush also said that he would continue "seeking common ground where possible and persuading increasing numbers of our fellow citizens of the rightness of our cause. This is the path of the culture of life that we seek for our country."\nOn Monday, abortion opponents staged a rally before a march from the Ellipse to the Supreme Court. Other groups opposed to abortion rights were holding events on Capitol Hill.\nNARAL Pro-Choice America has projected that 19 states quickly would outlaw abortion, and 19 more might follow suit if Roe v. Wade were overturned.\nLast week, Norma McCorvey, the woman known as "Jane Roe" in Roe v. Wade, asked the Supreme Court to overturn its 1973 decision.