Flip-Flop

Conventions of the American Bar Association are usually about as exciting as, well, a gathering of lawyers. Not this time. Last week the A.B.A.'s House of Delegates voted 200 to 188 to rescind the organization's pro-choice position. The group, which had adopted the pro-choice stance only last February, passed a resolution stating that the issue is "extremely divisive" and that the A.B.A. would take no official stand on it.

The A.B.A. had decided to reconsider after 1,500 of its 360,000 members quit in protest, costing the organization $300,000 in dues. The vote was a victory for pro-life forces, who had waged a $50,000 campaign, with the help of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago. U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh also pitched in, warning the group that the A.B.A.'s role as an evaluator of federal judges could be compromised by the pro-choice stance.

Critics of the about-face pointed out that the A.B.A. often takes positions on controversial constitutional questions, including flag burning, the right to die and gay rights. "It is an absolute sham to think that neutrality can ever be attained again," said Estelle Rogers, who spearheaded the movement to save the pro-choice resolution. "This gives comfort to people who want to criminalize abortion." The only thing the two sides seemed to agree upon is that the schism will result in continued -- and acrimonious -- debate.