1)Romney took the pro-life position on every abortion-related issue he faced while governor.
2)He vetoed an emergency contraception bill and offered a compelling case for life in the process.
3)He fought efforts to advance embryonic stem cell research in Massachusetts, despite overwhelming opposition.
4)He pledged to veto any effort to expand access to RU-486, the abortion pill.
5)He has faced constant ridicule from pro-abortion organizations for refusing to give in to their demands.
6)He actively promoted abstinence education programs in Massachusetts’ schools. The abstinence movement and the pro-life movement work hand-in-hand to reduce the number of teen pregnancies and to promote true sexual health to America’s youth. http://www.americansformitt.com/prolife_perspective.html
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An op-ed written by Romney and published in the Boston Globe in July, 2005, titled "Why I vetoed contraception bill" addresses Roe v. Wade and states rights:
"I understand that my views on laws governing abortion set me in the minority in our Commonwealth. I am prolife. I believe that abortion is the wrong choice..... I wish the people of America agreed, and that the laws of our nation could reflect that view. But while the nation remains so divided over abortion, I believe that the states, through the democratic process, should determine their own abortion laws and not have them dictated by judicial mandate."
“Transforming the courts” is a pre-requisite to winning the pro-life position. Both Thompson and Romney agree on that. And, unless a Republican is picking the judges that’s not going to happen.
BOTH Thompson and Romney did everything to limit the expansion of abortion while in office in spite of their prior statements which were "effectively" pro-choice.
BOTH Fred and Mitt have preferable positions on this topic to Giuliani's.
No I don’t:
ALEXANDRIA, Va— A new YouTube video released yesterday shows presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s alleged pro-life conversion story to be chronologically false and misleading.
Romney’s own comments on the abortion issue have been as follows:
1994: Mitt Romney was pro-choice:
“I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country. I have since the time that my mom took that position when she ran in 1970 as a US Senate candidate. I believe that since Roe v. Wade has been the law for 20 years we should sustain and support it.” (Joan Vennochi, “Romney’s Revolving World,” The Boston Globe, 3/2/06)
2001: Mitt Romney was not pro-choice:
“I do not wish to be labeled pro-choice.” (Mitt Romney, Letter to the Editor, The Salt Lake Tribune, 7/12/01)
2002: Mitt Romney was again pro-choice:
“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.” (Stephanie Ebbert, “Clarity Sought On Romney’s Abortion Stance,” The Boston Globe, 7/3/05)
November 2004: Mitt Romney said he converted to the pro-life position.
Romney said he changed his views after meeting with Harvard scientists on stem-cell research: ‘It hit me very hard that we had so cheapened the value of human life in a Roe v. Wade environment that it was important to stand for the dignity of human life.’ (Karen Tumulty, “What Romney Believes,” Time, 5/21/07)
May 2005: Mitt Romney reaffirmed that he was “absolutely committed” to support the pro-choice position.
Six months after he claimed to have converted to the pro-life position, Romney stated: “I am absolutely committed to my promise to maintain the status quo with regards to laws relating to abortion and choice and so far I’ve been able to successfully do that and my personal philosophical views about this issue is not something that I think would do anything other than distract from what I think is a more critical agenda ...” (Mitt Romney, Remarks At Press Conference, 5/27/05)
January 2007: Mitt Romney acknowledged he was “effectively pro-choice.”
On January 29, 2007 during a visit to South Carolina, Romney stated: “Over the last multiple years, as you know, I have been effectively pro-choice.” (Bruce Smith, “Romney Campaigns in SC with Sen. DeMint,” The Associated Press, 1/29/07)
February 2007: Mitt Romney stated that he “was always for life.”
On another campaign stop in South Carolina, Romney stated: “I am firmly pro-life… I was always for life.” (Jim Davenport, “Romney Affirms Opposition to Abortion,” The Associated Press, 2/9/2007)
This new video came on the same day that Romney’s presidential campaign released a list of social-conservatives backing Romney, and just two days before Romney is scheduled to speak to the National Right to Life Convention in Kansas City, Missouri.
“I would assume that those social conservatives who are supporting Romney did not know at the time that he had misled them about his conversion story,” said Martin Gillespie, political director of Brownback for President. “I would encourage those who have supported Romney to publicly ask him to clarify when exactly he became pro-life, or if he did at all.”
Romney has also continually rejected a Human Life Amendment to the Constitution, which would protect unborn children in all fifty states. The Human Life Amendment is part of the platform of the Republican Party, and Romney opposes it. Romney also refused to call abortion murder during a campaign event in New Hampshire a few weeks ago, instead stating that murder “means different things to different people.” Romney’s wife has also financially supported Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the world.
“One would think that Mitt Romney is in training for an Olympic gold medal in verbal gymnastics, as his various political contortions on abortion are stunning in their timing and flexibility,” Gillespie added. “The best advice for Mitt Romney comes from Mark Twain: ‘Always tell the truth. That way, you don’t have to remember what you said.’”
Senator Brownback has a 100% lifetime voting record with National Right to Life and backs the Republican Party platform on abortion as well as the Human Life Amendment to the Constitution.
The new YouTube footage of Romney reaffirming his support for abortion rights after his alleged pro-life conversion is available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxV-QNXoRIc.
No how is he pro life when in January ‘07 he stated I have been EFFECTIVELY PRO CHOICE over the last couple of years?
He signed a law as Governor FORCING tax payers to pay for abortions (Romney care).
What he has pledged and what he has done are two different things.
The above and the war on terror, the two strongest reasons to vote conservative AND Republican.
Good post! I can hear his voice while reading the quotes.
The more I see and hear Romney, the more I’m impressed.