THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Saturday, April 13, 1996               TAG: 9604130006
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A12  EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Letter 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   42 lines

REAGAN/BUSH WON WITH PRO-LIFE PLANK

In your 4 April edition, T. R. Wolf writes, ``. . . if the GOP adopts his (Buchanan's) agenda, it will guarantee the re-election of President Clinton.'' He then mentions some of Mr. Buchanan's issues, such as ``trade, immigration, corporations, the judiciary, evolution, etc.''

Mr. Wolf's letter was meant to discredit Mr. Buchanan's position against abortion and those who believe, as he does, that life begins at conception. He further attempted to convince the GOP that the political influence of groups like ``Ralph Reed's Christian Coalition'' must be reduced.

Three things are important to remember here. First, Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984, and George Bush in 1988, won presidential-election races with a ``pro-life plank'' in their platform that pushed for a constitutional amendment to protect the unborn from the moment of conception.

Second, the Declaration of Independence states, that we are endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights and that among these are ``life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.'' The party of Lincoln replaced the Whigs of the 1850s because they recognized that slavery was wrong. They focused on liberty for all and did not get into a discussion of degree, as Mr. Wolf does with his comment upon the size of the fetus (1/50th the size of the head of a pin), and his completely inappropriate remark of ``scrambled chicken vs. scrambled eggs.''

Which brings me to my final comment. Ronald Reagan said, ``Government exists to protect us from each other, it does not exist to protect us from ourselves.'' It is the rightful place of government to protect the weakest of our society - the poor, the homeless, the smallest of babies. Mr. Wolf wants the ``government out of our personal affairs.'' So do I. But who speaks for the babies' personal affairs? Not Mr. Wolf.

JIM McFILLIN JR.

Virginia Beach, April 6, 1996 by CNB