Yeah, I’m back too (we’ll see for how long I guess). I take it as a tacit admission that purging Mitt supporters was a huge mistake. Anyway.....
This part stood out to me:
“The LDS leader in Massachusetts at that time, called the “stake president,” was a Harvard-trained physician, Dr. Gordon Williams, and he counseled Sheldon to follow her doctor’s advice to terminate the pregnancy and protect her own life, so that she could continue caring for her four living children. “Of course, you should have the abortion,” she recalled him saying.”
I’m calling BS on that. Bishops and Stake Presidents as I understand it are NEVER supposed to say anything like that. They can say something like: ‘Because medical authorities legitimately see this pregnancy as a threat to your own life, there will be no consequences to you from the church if you choose to get an abortion, but that doesn’t mean it is what you should do, you need to go to God and talk with Him about that.’ The decision and the responsibility for it lie with the woman, church leaders do not give authorization like that.
Bottom line is Mitt acted in a way consistent with the beliefs he has talked about on the campaign trail. He used nothing but words, persuasion not threats or force, and she still got the abortion. Total non-issue, but Mitt may be hampered in responding to it because he is not free to make private conversations he had while acting as Bishop public. He can make broad statements (”I never attempted to bully anybody... etc.”) but he won’t be able to get too specific without her permission I think. Likewise the Stake President.
And that's probably what they're counting on.