Sen. Gordon Humphrey, a steadfast foe of legalized abortion, said Friday he has softened his stand for the tactical reason of finally getting an updated abortion law passed in New Hampshire. The conservative Republican, who is running for a state Senate seat even though he retires in January from the U.S. Senate after two terms, said he has long supported abortion only to save the woman's life, but now would support exceptions for rape and incest victims. In a telephone interview from his Chichester home, Humphrey said he's easing his stance ``because that's probably the only way that we can get a bill passed and signed into law that would address the 95 percent of abortions that have nothing to do with rape, incest or the life of the mother.'' Earlier this year, Gov. Judd Gregg vetoed a bill that would have made abortion legal until the fetus could live outside the womb. Last year, Gregg vetoed a bill to repeal the state's existing anti-abortion laws, which date from the mid-1800s. Humphrey faces state Rep. Jack Sherburne in the Sept. 11 Republican primary. Sherburne favors abortion rights, as does the incumbent, Republican William Johnson, who is running for Congress. Humphrey said his beliefs haven't changed and that he hopes the public eventually will agree with him that ``each abortion kills a human being, and a human being is a human being irrespective of his circumstances of conception.'' Asked if he would revert to opposing exceptions for rape and incest if the political climate were favorable, Humphrey said, ``That would be my preference. But I don't expect to see that day.'' He said he had not discussed his new position with anti-abortion supporters, but expects some criticism. Warren Aldrich, legislative director for New Hampshire For L.I.F.E., would not comment directly on Humphrey's change, but said his group ``would not take part in sponsoring or originating a bill that permits the taking of an unborn human life because of the circumstances of its conception.'' ``Rape and incest are tragic assaults on a woman's life, but we do not believe that abortion is in any way therapeutic for the woman,'' he said. Peg Dobbie, state director of the National Abortion Rights Action League, was surprised by Humphrey's new stance. ``He seems like the guy who's above it, the maverick who stands up for his convictions no matter what,'' she said. Even with the modifications, Humphrey's stance ``is a very extreme anti-abortion position,'' Dobbie said.
