Schapiro: One party, many opinions

On Jan. 6, eight anti-abortion activists – lawyers, ministers and physicians — met with Jasen Eige, chief lobbyist for Gov. Bob McDonnell.

They pressed for the Republican's position on measures declaring that life — and the legal rights, thereof — begin at conception. Specifically, which of two versions of the so-called personhood bill does McDonnell support?

It has been nearly a month since that 1½-hour session. The abortion opponents are still waiting for an answer.

And what Tucker Martin, the governor's spokesman, said the other day may not qualify as one. McDonnell, Martin said, "supports efforts to protect innocent human life that are consistent with applicable court rulings and state and federal law. He has significant concerns that this proposed legislation has major constitutional issues and may not withstand court scrutiny."

Beyond McDonnell's innate caution — perhaps because of his national ambitions, he's not one to conceal his opposition to abortion, but he doesn't broadcast it either — Martin's remarks reflect a rare, little-noticed split among movement-oriented Republicans who make up the party's backbone. The division, too, is a reminder that in the latest incarnation of one-party Virginia, differences on core beliefs often are not tolerated.

The Virginia Christian Alliance and the Valley Family Forum are among conservative organizations favoring a sweeping statement on personhood, lifted from one of the first in the nation: a Missouri statute affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1989. The Virginia proposal is sponsored by Del. Bob Marshall of Prince William County, primus inter pares among anti-abortion Republicans and a candidate for the party's U.S. Senate nomination.

Other groups, such as The Family Foundation and the Virginia Assembly of Independent Baptists, aren't saying whether they prefer the Marshall bill over a measure by Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin. It declares a fetus a human being and allows a woman who ends a pregnancy through negligence — a term not defined by the bill — to be sued for wrongful death.

The personhood debate is largely raging out of view — in emails, telephone calls, one-on-one conversations in the corridors of the General Assembly Building — though it could flare in public, perhaps this week, when the Marshall and Stanley proposals might come up in committee. The issue is shaping up as a test of loyalty, not just to the Republican Party but also to its sternly enforced principles.

Though he's not shy about his status as a Republican outsider, Marshall does little to conceal his frustration that the GOP regime — starting with Bob McDonnell — seems reluctant to back his bill. Referring to the party's majorities in the House and Senate, Marshall said, "The numbers here — they don't translate into who's in charge."

One of Marshall's problems may be himself — not just his intellectually combative, crack-wise style but also his ambition. If Republicans hand Marshall a victory on personhood, they also supply him ammunition for the Senate primary with George Allen. Allen is the front-runner, endorsed by McDonnell and many GOP legislators, but a newcomer on personhood.

As Stanley sees it, there's a disconnect on personhood between policymakers in Richmond and policy purists back home: "I don't see it as a fissure inside the confines of the Capitol. I see it more outside the Capitol from interests whose expectations far exceed what we can reasonably accomplish."

Jack Knapp of the Virginia Assembly of Independent Baptists has heard it before on other issues important to religious, social and cultural conservatives.

Time has worked to their advantage, he said, citing the 30-year effort — completed in 2007 — to shield churches from sales and use taxes. The messenger is important, too. Knapp said it wasn't until the mild-mannered Sam Nixon, then a delegate from Chesterfield, took up the cause, that the legislature — "without a whimper" — exempted church-purchased power tools from the sales tax.

But listening to Knapp, it's clear that there may be an unintentional obstacle in the personhood fight: faith — and capturing its spirit in the Code of Virginia. Said Knapp, "Our belief may not be achievable in the law."