Anti-Abortion Dems Seek Better Seat at Table

CHICAGO – Some Democrats still reeling from losses in 2000, 2002 and in this year's election say they could have reaped wins over Republicans if they had only treated one issue differently.

"I think the Republican Party really did a masterful job of claiming the pro-life issue and we need to take it back," said Kristen Day of Democrats for Life of America (search).

Democrats for Life claims that if the national party altered its pro-abortion rights stance, it would help Democrats win future elections.

"I think we really need to look at our strong pro-abortion stance and really come out and say that we want to truly make abortion rare," Day said.

But Jenny Backus, a spokeswoman at the Democratic National Committee (search), said Day is out of touch with the party's position.

"We're proudly pro-choice. It doesn't mean you're for or against abortion. It means that you believe people should have the choice," Backus said.

The Democratic Party platform on which Sen. John Kerry (search) ran says the party wants abortion in the United States to be safe, legal and rare. But some political analysts say the Democrats didn't do enough to bring up the aspect of the platform that stresses rarity.

"In this election, I don't think the Democrats really nuanced their position, moderated their position as much as they had quite successfully in earlier campaigns, particularly the Clinton campaign," said Tom Smith, a research analyst at the University of Chicago.

An Election Day exit poll showed a clear majority of voters agreed with their party's position on abortion — most Democrats supported the right of women to get an abortion and most Republicans wanted to see abortion made illegal.

But anti-abortion Democrats say that it comes down to two choices — Democrats either have to be more tolerant of anti-abortion Democrats or they have to accept more Republican victories in future elections.

Click in the box near the top of the story to watch a report by FOX News' Steve Brown.