“What a tempest in a teapot. Reagan is universally revered, yet underwent a similar change of heart on the abortion issue. He was considered quite the pro-choice governor as I recall. Why doesn’t Mitt get the pass the Gipper did?”
Because the people who idolize Reagan somehow forget the real past of Saint Gipper, the one where he signed abortion liberalization in Cali., and so when Romney makes a (correct) point about Reagan’s evolution, they have a hissy fit and call Romney a liar.
Lesson? Don’t tug on superman’s cape, Mitt.
First of all, the abortion bill in question was a liberalization but was hardly liberal. It legalized abortion in the exception cases of rape, incest and the health of the mother. Doctors abused the final exception, and Reagan later regretted signing the bill.
But beyond that, Reagan's full conversion to a pro-life position did not coincide with running for the presidency. Reagan also never praised Roe as Romney did in 1994. And as Romney's comments here indicate, he is pandering to the right with his supposed pro-life shift.