Life begins at conception, Kerry says

INDEPENDENCE, Iowa -- Amid a three-day bus tour in which he highlighted his values and cast himself as an acceptable alternative for conservative voters, John F. Kerry was quoted yesterday as saying he believes life begins at conception, but continues to favor abortion rights.

The Roman Catholic Church, of which Kerry is a member, teaches that life begins at conception, and thus abortion should be opposed. Kerry's refusal to adhere to the latter portion of the teachings has prompted some conservative prelates to declare they would deny him Communion. Yesterday, President Bush's reelection committee cast Kerry's most recent comments as an attempt to appease critics at a time when he is trying to broaden his support among moderate and Independent voters.

''Vatican II is very clear. There is something called freedom of conscience in the Catholic Church," Kerry told the Telegraph Herald of Dubuque in a story in its Sunday editions. ''I oppose abortion, personally. I don't like abortion. I believe life does begin at conception. But I can't take my Catholic belief, my article of faith, and legislate it on a Protestant or a Jew or an atheist . . . who doesn't share it. We have separation of church and state in the United States of America."

While Kerry, the presumed Democratic presidential nominee, has previously mentioned his personal discomfort with abortion, a database search of newspaper stories failed to find any previous reference to him saying that he believed life began at conception. A campaign spokeswoman said she also was unaware of him making the comment previously.

It is that belief among conservatives both in and out of his church that leads them to oppose not only abortion, but also stem cell research -- which Kerry has said he favors and which Bush supports only in a limited fashion.

''John Kerry's ridiculous claim to hold 'conservative values,' and his willingness to change his beliefs to fit his audience, betrays a startling lack of conviction on important issues like abortion that will make it difficult for voters to give him their trust," said Bush-Cheney spokesman Steve Schmidt.

Meanwhile, Kerry campaigned side-by-side yesterday with Tom Vilsack, although neither he nor the Iowa governor acknowledged speculation that Kerry may tap Vilsack to be his running mate.

The two marched in a parade in Cascade, played baseball at the ''Field of Dreams" ballpark, and then indulged in a Fourth of July barbecue here, yet Vilsack refused comment on the vice presidential speculation, while Kerry similarly refused to speak about a process he has labeled personal and private.

One report sent a buzz through the caravan that carried him across the Midwest since Friday. The ABC News online political newsletter ''The Note" reported that Kerry held a late-night meeting last Thursday at the Washington home of former secretary of state Madeleine K. Albright and that the person he favors for his running mate attended. The newsletter said that in checking the schedule of Kerry's prospective running mates, only Representative Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri was in town.

The campaign appears poised to make the announcement tomorrow morning in Pittsburgh, where Kerry's staff has taken the exceptional step of asking television crews if they want to arrange live broadcasts from what is being depicted on the schedule as a routine political rally.

Asked whether he had made a decision yet, Kerry said: ''I made a decision to get a drink and eat some lunch."

Likewise, Vilsack bobbed and weaved when asked if he had a big week ahead of him. ''Happy Fourth of July. You want some candy?" he said as he threw Tootsie Rolls to reporters.

Later, as the two greeted a crowd of about 300 at a backyard barbecue at Leo and Therese Donnelly's home in this eastern Iowa community, they exchanged innocuous comments.

Kerry spoke after his two daughters, Alexandra and Vanessa, and he recalled how Vilsack's wife, Christie, had endorsed him last winter when he was trailing badly in the polls. He said it was an expression of support that gratified the Kerry family.

ABC News reported in The Note that after its reporter appeared to leave his stakeout post outside Kerry's house at 10:30 Thursday night, ''our sources say that Kerry and his Secret Service agents then went the very short distance to the nearby home of former secretary of state Madeleine Albright. Albright is a supporter of Kerry and has her office now in the same office building in Washington as the Kerry campaign. At Albright's house late Thursday night, Kerry had a meeting with just a small group of people -- one of whom, our sources say, seemed to be the person Kerry at that moment planned to pick as his running mate."

The network said its researchers determined Gephardt was in town and not Vilsack or Senator John Edwards of North Carolina, another prospective running mate, but it could not immediately determine where two others, Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware and former senator William Cohen of Maine, were at the time. The Kerry campaign refused comment on the report.

The bus tour put Kerry and Vilsack together publicly for the first time since media speculation focused on the Iowa governor.

The two men began their day at the Church of the Resurrection, a Catholic parish on the outskirts of Dubuque. Later, in Cascade, the men marched together in the parade, though they shook hands on opposite sides of the street. By midafternoon, they were in Dyersville at the baseball field-built-amid-corn stalks that served as the setting for the Kevin Costner film ''Field of Dreams."

Kerry donned a Red Sox cap before playing a pickup game with visitors. Vilsack, toting a well-worn first-base mitt, played first.

On one play, Kerry took four strikes before smashing a hit to left field. He scored amid some tame and error-filled play, prompting Vilsack to say, ''He hit a home run today, just like he will on Nov. 2."

For his part, Kerry said, ''I was terrible. I deserved to be pulled."

During his remarks in Independence, Kerry hit the administration for proposing a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

''I'm a person of faith. I know I'm surrounded by people of faith, but there's nothing conservative about allowing your administration to cross that beautiful line drawn by the Founding Fathers that separates affairs of church and state in the United States of America," he said.

Last night, the senator wrapped up a bus tour that took him across 550 miles of the Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa countryside. The tour ended with a Fourth of July celebration in Cedar Rapids, before he flew back to Pittsburgh.

Today, Kerry and his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, host a barbecue for about 300 people from Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia at her 90-acre farm in the Pittsburgh suburbs.

Tomorrow he has speeches in Indianapolis and Washington, D.C.

Glen Johnson can be reached at johnson@globe.com.