WASHINGTON — Republican political activists said Saturday that reports that Fred D. Thompson had lobbied to ease a controversial abortion restriction have cast a shadow on his effort to persuade social conservatives -- a key constituency in his emerging bid for the White House -- that he is an unwavering opponent of abortion.
Some Republican activists urged caution in evaluating Thompson's record. Others considered it damaging for questions to arise about his position on abortion, a litmus-test issue for many social conservatives.
"That would not be helpful," said Paul M. Weyrich, a conservative leader who has not endorsed a presidential candidate.
Evidence that Thompson worked for a family-planning group in 1991 as part of his little-known but extensive portfolio as a part-time lobbyist underscores how much the public has yet to learn about the former senator, who is best known for acting in movies and on TV, especially his role as a district attorney on the popular show "Law & Order."
The article in Saturday's Los Angeles Times cited records and the accounts of several people associated with the issue. It also said Thompson's spokesman strongly denied Thompson had performed such lobbying work.
Some conservatives said the lobbying claims added to anxieties. Though the GOP has been unwavering in its opposition to abortion at least since President Reagan, the positions of its presidential front-runners appear to be less unequivocal.
Former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani supports abortion rights. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is a recent convert to opposing abortion rights. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) opposes abortion but has never made that a central issue in his career.
"With all the people who keep changing their minds on abortion, that's got to be unsettling," Weyrich said.
The result is a GOP abortion debate lacking one thing that activists on both sides of the issue long for: certitude.
"People want to see clarity and consistency on this issue," said Ted Miller, spokesman for NARAL Pro-Choice America, which supports abortion rights.
A big question for Thompson, who is expected to declare his candidacy in the next week or two, is whether this will disillusion Republicans who have seen him as a white knight to rescue the party from candidates unpalatable to many conservatives.
