Romney says he wouldn't limit abortion rights, then walks it back
Mitt Romney tells Des Moines paper he isn't aware of any abortion-limiting legislation that would be part of his agenda as president. His campaign walks back that comment, in general, and the Obama folks accuse him of lying to moderate his image and "close the deal" with skeptical women voters.
Romney says he wouldn't limit abortion rights, then walks it back
Thomas Fitzgerald, Inquirer Politics Writer
Noting that Mitt Romney downplayed his opposition to abortion rights in an Iowa newspaper, the Obama campaign on Wednesday accused the Republican nominee of attempting to hide extreme views on reproductive health in order to moderate his image and “close the deal” with skeptical women voters.
“There's no legislation with regards to abortion that I'm familiar with that would become part of my agenda,” Romney said in an interview Tuesday with the Des Moines Register editorial board.
That marked a fairly recent change of tone for Romney who, earlier in his career, changed from being a supporter of abortion rights to an opponent. During the Republican primaries this year, Romney asserted his anti-abortion bona fides, saying repeatedly that Roe v. Wade should be overturned and that all federal funding for Planned Parenthood should be eliminated. He has also said he would appoint Supreme Court justices committed to overturning the landmark decision that legalized abortion.
“The real Mitt Romney will say anything to win,” Stephanie Cutter, deputy campaign manager for Obama, said in a conference call with reporters. “He’s cynically trying to hide his real positions.”
Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards, who said she has taken a leave of absence to campaign for Obama, noted that Romney has also spoken in support of the proposed Rubio-Blunt amendment, which would give employers the power to determine whether health-care plans would cover abortion, and in favor of a proposed “personhood” legislation that would define a fertilized human egg as a person for the purposes of determining constitutional rights.
“Mitt Romney is proudly pro-life, and he will be a pro-life president,” campaign spokesman Andrea Saul said.
Said Richards: “The American people can’t trust him (Romney) to be honest and direct with what he believes.
Strategically, the Obama campaign has been counting on a gender gap – a disparity between women’s and men’s support of the president’s reelection – to win.
Yawn. We sure could use an Eisenhower or Teddy R today.— 1000hugs- Romney has explicitly stated that he will select supreme court justices to over turn Roe Vs. Wade.
Romney has also stated he supports personhood bill for fetus at inception.— Seed - Bigger question in this scenario is why Romney was not asked why he is saying things contradictory to his all previous statement.
Romney can't just make things up and not be challenged for his lies.— Seed - Fitz misrepresents. Shame on you. Romney previously said that he supports pro life issues. He never said he would enact them or propose legislation. Only if the media used the same standard in analyzing Obama's statements. If it did, the paper would be 4,000 pages long.— CD75
- Hey Fitz, ask Barry if he supports partial birth abortion. I wonder what response you would get.— CD75
- This comment has been deleted. — Tony Stark
- ditto cd75! this paper and this columnist is a JOKE
like Obama hasnt flip-flopped, but "evolved" his views, for instance on gay marriage. anyhthing for the vote!— mulford71 - Dick Polman suggesting to his readers that he has no idea how the legislative process works. I don't believe that's true. Polman is dishonest, not an idiot.— Mr. Smith
- Or Fitzgerald, whoever it is in the monotone of Inqy writers.— Mr. Smith
Comment removed.- Romney is in a almost dead heat with the failure-in-chief. 27 days till your out of a job as being a professional troll. Good luck in the unemployment line. Maybe then you'll have some time to get out of your mom's basement and meet your first girl.
You can reach Tom Fitzgerald at 215-854-2718 or tfitzgerald@phillynews.com.
Reach Thomas at tfitzgerald@phillynews.com.
