Posted on 05/10/2007 9:45:34 PM PDT by jdm
AGAWAM, Mass. (AP) -- Conservative activists criticized Mitt Romney over his abortion record Thursday as the Republican presidential contender received an award from an anti-abortion group that also used to complain about his support for abortion rights.
A coalition including the leaders of the Pro-Life Federation, the Michigan Conservative Union and Massachusetts Resistance was especially critical of the revelation that Romney's wife, Ann, had donated $150 to Planned Parenthood during her husband's 1994 U.S. Senate campaign.
The group also complained because a universal health care bill Romney signed into law while Massachusetts governor includes a seat for Planned Parenthood -- which includes abortion among its family planning services -- on a payment policy board.
''His commitment to the pro-life cause has been called into question because of his frequently changing position on the issue of abortion and his signing into law a bill that provides taxpayer-funded abortion in Massachusetts,'' the group said in a statement.
In remarks to over 600 people at the Massachusetts Citizens for Life Mother's Day Dinner, Romney conceded his conversion. While personally opposing abortion, he supported abortion rights as recently as two-and-a-half years ago. Now he not only opposes abortion rights personally but calls for the repeal of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion nationally.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
... and his signing into law a bill that provides taxpayer-funded abortion in Massachusetts,'' the group said in a statement.
Really?! I didn't know about this -- and it's fairly recent, I believe.
Romney is not perfect, but he is very good and the best candidate to defeat any democrat.
Romney seems to be Giuliani-lite, only slicker. No thanks.
Planned Parenthood, conceived and operated by and for Marxist/socialists.
No kidding!
Exactly.
The above is a key sentence as well. Two-and-a-half years ago wasn't 1994!!!
Oh yeah.
Lemme know when Rudy G receives such an award.
Pretty unseemly, and dangerous, I think.
I don’t see why either one of these Planned Parenthood supporters should ever receive such an award.
“Romney is not perfect, but he is very good and the best candidate to defeat any democrat.”
I agree. Romney’s always stated that he’s personally against abortion, but he probably realized that as a governor (of the most liberal state in the Union), there was little he could do to overturn a Federal law. I definitely do see that there are certain aspects of his record that allowed for the continuance of the existing laws regarding abortion, but I don’t see anywhere where he tried to promote the practice. Actually, from what I have seen, he promoted a somewhat conservative approach within the boundaries of Roe vs. Wade by supporting partial-birth abortion and advocating informed consent and parental notification. No that’s not a glowing record on a national scale, but that’s a pretty darn brave and unpopular stance in such a liberal place. JMO, of course.
Yessirree, ‘cept for the “unseemly and dangerous” part. God bless Massachusetts Citizens for Life and their Mother’s Day Dinner.
"Deadly assault weapons have no place in Massachusetts, These guns are not made for recreation or self-defense. They are instruments of destruction with the sole purpose of hunting down and killing people." - Mitt Romney
Mitt’s wife didn’t get the award. He did. :)
“by supporting partial-birth abortion...”
Crap! Correcting my earlier post. He supported a BAN on partial-birth abortion. My bad.
In the spring of 2002 Romney completed a Planned Parenthood questionnaire. Signed by Romney and dated April 9, 2002, it contained these responses:
Do you support the substance of the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade? YES
Do you support state funding of abortion services through Medicaid for low-income women? YES
In 1998 the FDA approved the first packaging of emergency contraception, also known as the "morning after pill." Emergency contraception is a high dose combination of oral contraceptives that if taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex, can safely prevent a pregnancy from occurring. Do you support efforts to increase access to emergency contraception? YES
Romney also completed the questionnaire of the National Abortion Rights Action League, or NARAL (now called NARAL Pro-Choice America), with this statement:
"I respect and will protect a woman's right to choose. This choice is a deeply personal one. Women should be free to choose based on their own beliefs, not mine and not the government's. The truth is no candidate in the governor's race in either party would deny women abortion rights. So let's end an argument that does not exist and stop these cynical and divisive attacks that are made only for political gain." - Mitt Romney
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