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Originally Posted by irishgrl
not sure why you would call him ANY sort of pro-choice person....considering he's all for that stupid "Human Life Amendment", I hope he loses big.
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In the article you posted, it states:
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Romney said he changed his mind on abortion after reflecting on a November 2004 meeting with a Harvard stem cell researcher.
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Prior to that he was quasi-pro choice, to wit:
Romney currently holds a pro-life platform, though in 1994 he promised not to infringe upon abortion rights in Massachusetts, which he says was a result of having a sister-in-law die as the result of an illegal abortion. In the 2002 Massachusetts gubernatorial campaign, he was endorsed by the Republicans for Choice coalition. In a March 15, 2007 interview with Larry King, Romney explained that while governor he adapted his political position on abortion when the idea of cloning human embryos for the purpose of harvesting stem cells became an issue of debate in his state, but has made some comment that affirmed his previous pro-choice position months after he says that he had become pro-life.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitt_Romney
Also -
Mitt Romney on Abortion
Click here for 16 full quotes on Abortion OR other candidates on Abortion OR background on Abortion.
Absolute good day for America when Roe v. Wade is repealed. (May 2007)
Personally pro-life, but government should not intrude. (May 2007)
Was effectively pro-choice until cloning changed his opinion. (May 2007)
Altered nuclear transfer instead of embryonic stem cells. (May 2007)
Would welcome overturning Roe v. Wade. (Mar 2007)
Breach of Constitution for justices to adjust Constitution. (Mar 2007)
Committed to not change law on abortion as Gov., and did not. (Mar 2007)
Stem cell research lofty goals don't justify destroying life. (Mar 2007)
Now firmly pro-life, despite 2002 tolerance for abortion. (Dec 2006)
Opposes Roe v Wade, but won't tamper with abortion laws. (Dec 2006)
Anti-abortion views have "evolved & deepened" while governor. (Jul 2005)
Vetoed emergency contraception for rape victims. (Jul 2005)
Vetoed stem cell research bill. (May 2005)
Endorsed legalization of RU-486. (Mar 2002)
Personally against abortion, but pro-choice as governor. (Mar 2002)
For safe, legal abortion since relative's death from illegal. (Oct 1994)
http://www.ontheissues.org/Mitt_Romney.htm#Abortion
Finally -
Mitt Romney on Abortion
Republican MA Governor
Absolute good day for America when Roe v. Wade is repealed
Q: Would the day that Roe v. Wade is repealed be a good day for America?
ROMNEY: Absolutely.
BROWNBACK: It would be a glorious day of human liberty and freedom.
GILMORE: Yes, it was wrongly decided.
HUCKABEE: Most certainly.
HUNTER: Yes.
THOMPSON: Yes.
McCAIN: A repeal.
GIULIANI: It would be OK to repeal.
TANCREDO: After 40 million dead because we have aborted them in this country, that would be the greatest day in this country's history when that, in fact, is overturned.
Source: 2007 GOP primary debate, at Reagan library, hosted by MSNBC May 3, 2007
Personally pro-life, but government should not intrude
Q: In recent months, you've said you were "always for life," but we've also heard you say you were once "effectively pro-choice." Which is it?
I've always been personally pro-life, but for me, it was a great question about whether or not government should intrude in that decision. And when I ran for office, I said I'd protect the law as it was, which is effectively a pro-choice position.
Source: 2007 GOP primary debate, at Reagan library, hosted by MSNBC May 3, 2007
Was effectively pro-choice until cloning changed his opinion
Q: You were effectively pro-choice as governor?
A: About two years ago, when we were studying cloning in our state, I said, look, we have gone too far. It's a "brave new world" mentality that Roe v. Wade has given us, and I changed my mind. I took the same course that Ronald Reagan took, and I said I was wrong and changed my mind and said I'm pro-life. And I'm proud of that, and I won't apologize to anybody for becoming pro-life.
Q: Some people are going to see those changes of mind as awfully politically convenient.
A: When I ran for the first time, I said I was personally pro-life but that I would protect a woman's right to choose as the law existed. Two years ago, as a result of the debate we had, the conclusion I reached was that cloning and creating new embryos was wrong, and that we should, therefore, allow our state to become a pro-life state. I believe states should have the right to make this decision, and that's a position I indicated in an op-ed in the Boston Globe 2 years ago.
Source: 2007 GOP primary debate, at Reagan library, hosted by MSNBC May 3, 2007
Altered nuclear transfer instead of embryonic stem cells
Q: Would you expand federal funding of embryonic stem cell research?
A: It certainly will. Altered nuclear transfer, I think, is perhaps the best source.
Q: Embryonic.
A: Altered nuclear transfer creates embryo-like cells that can be used for stem cell research. In my view, that's the most promising source. I have a deep concern about curing disease. I have a wife that has a serious disease that could be affected by stem cell research and others. But I will not create new embryos through cloning or through embryo farming, because that will be creating life for the purpose of destroying it.
Q: And you won't take any from these fertility clinics to use either?
A: It's fine for that to be allowed, to be legal. I won't use our government funds for that. Instead, I want our governments to be used on altered nuclear transfer.
Source: 2007 GOP primary debate, at Reagan library, hosted by MSNBC May 3, 2007
Would welcome overturning Roe v. Wade
Q: Would you welcome the overruling of Roe v. Wade by the Court?
A: Yes. I would like to see each state be able to make its own decision regarding abortion rather than have a one-size-fits-all blanket pronouncement by the Supreme Court.
Q: Would you have a "litmus test" of any sort when it came to nominees for the Supreme Court?
A: I think we'd all like to apply a litmus test. Each of us would like to say, "Here are all the decisions that are going to come up. How will you vote?" But I don't think that's the process that you're going to see employed by me or, frankly, by others as well. Doing it that way would make it very difficult for the nominee to be confirmed. There will not be a litmus test. Instead, there will be a philosophical test, which is: "Is this a person who follows the law, who abides by the Constitution, who will strictly construe the Constitution as intended, or is this a person who looks to expand upon the Constitution to 'write' laws without the benefit of legislation?"
Source: A Mormon in the White House, by Hugh Hewitt, p.103-104 Mar 12, 2007
Breach of Constitution for justices to adjust Constitution
Romney said this about the Supreme Court and potential justice nominees: "I believe the Constitution embodies the values that the Founders thought were critical for a successful nation to survive; therefore, justices have to hold true to the Constitution to maintain the foundation of values that made it successful. I want justices who will follow the Constitution & will not add to it, not subtract from it but instead look to the Constitution & the values of the Founders to set the course for the nation. We have a process for changing the Constitution. It is an amendment process. The people are very much involved in that process. I find it a breach of the constitutional path for justices to effectively change the Constitution rather than allow the constitutionally devised processes for making those adjustments occur. I thought both Justices Robert and Alito were ideal examples for what we should select for justices going forward. I know I depart from my liberal friends on this front."
Source: A Mormon in the White House?, by Hugh Hewitt, p.101-102 Mar 12, 2007
Committed to not change law on abortion as Gov., and did not
The pro-life community is sophisticated and educated, and quite capable of understanding how a pro-life politician in Massachusetts has to advocate for the possible, and must not allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good.
"I am pro-life," Romney told me pointedly. He went on to explain how his campaigns have provided fodder for his 2008 opponents. "In my 1994 debate with Senator Kennedy he said that I was 'multiple choice' for which he got a good laugh because I would not say I was pro-choice. I said what I would do if I were elected senator, the same thing I said when I was running for governor. As governor, I indicated that I would not change the law as it related to abortion. I would keep it the same. I have had roughly four provisions that have reached my desk which would have changed the laws as they relate to abortion, all of which would have expanded abortion rights. I vetoed each of those. My record as governor has been very clearly a pro-life record."
Source: A Mormon in the White House?, by Hugh Hewitt, p.110 Mar 12, 2007
Stem cell research lofty goals don't justify destroying life
Romney adopted the "pro-life" label after his battle over stem cell research. Ann Romney has multiple sclerosis. Romney, who not surprisingly cites the diagnosis of his wife's disease as one of the greatest blows of his life, is nevertheless alarmed by the aggressive program of embryonic stem cell research consortiums. He has taken a stand against the Harvard Stem Cell Institute.
The Harvard Stem Cell Institute was seeking legal protection for an embryo production line for the purpose of creating and harvesting stem cells, and Romney refused his support. He said, "Lofty goals do not justify the creation of life for experimentation or destruction."
Romney's views would permit for research the use of embryos about to be destroyed by their parents; this puts him at odds with President Bush's more restrictive position. Romney has never supported state-funded research on embryonic stem cells, and is a believer in the efficacy of alternative methods of producing stem cells.
Source: A Mormon in the White House?, by Hugh Hewitt, p.111-114 Mar 12, 2007
Now firmly pro-life, despite 2002 tolerance for abortion
In New Hampshire on Thursday, he deflected conservative concerns about his record on gay marriage and abortion. He said he now describes himself as "firmly pro-life," despite citing his tolerance for abortion rights during his 2002 gubernatorial campaign, after researching the embryonic stem cell issue.
Source: CNN.com, "Inside Politics" Dec 22, 2006
Opposes Roe v Wade, but won't tamper with abortion laws
Opposes Roe v. Wade.
Believes that abortion should be banned in all cases except rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother.
Vetoed an emergency contraception bill in July 2005.
However: Has kept campaign promise not to tamper with state abortion laws.
Said in 1994: "I had a dear, close family relative that was very close to me who passed away from an illegal abortion. We will not force our beliefs on others. And you will not see me wavering on that."
Source: CivilLiberty.about.com profile of Romney Dec 1, 2006
Anti-abortion views have "evolved & deepened" while governor
When he ran for governor in 2002, Romney pledged not to change the state's abortion laws, despite his personal opposition. But his veto Monday of an emergency contraceptives bill & his comments in recent months have fueled speculation among critics that Romney is hardening his opposition to abortion and other sensitive social issues to gain support from GOP conservatives. Romney says his anti-abortion views have "evolved and deepened" since he took office, colored in part by the debate over embryonic stem cell research.
"In considering the issue of embryo cloning and embryo farming, I saw where the harsh logic of abortion can lead--to the view of innocent new life as nothing more than research material or a commodity to be exploited," Romney wrote in an opinion piece in Tuesday's Boston Globe. He also said he believes each state should decide whether to allow abortion, rather than having the "one size fits all" precedent of Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court case that legalized abortion.
Source: Associated Press on NewsMax.com Jul 27, 2005
Vetoed emergency contraception for rape victims
Massachusetts' Legislature is overwhelmingly Democratic, and Romney's first term as governor barely touched on the issues dear to social conservatives until recently.
In May, Romney vetoed legislation to expand stem cell research because it allowed the cloning of human embryos for use in stem cell experiments--a practice Romney said amounts to creating life in order to destroy it. The Legislature overrode the veto.
His veto of the emergency contraception measure is also likely to be overridden. That bill requires hospital emergency room doctors to offer the medication to rape victims, and would make it available without prescription from pharmacies.
Romney is on a list of possible contenders for the White House in 2008. Others include Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, Sam Brownback of Kansas and George Allen of Virginia, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Source: Associated Press on NewsMax.com Jul 27, 2005
Vetoed stem cell research bill
This House vote affirmed passage of the bill supporting stem cell research as originally passed by the House and Senate, rejecting Governor Romney's proposed amendments and veto, and avoiding delays of implementation.
Source: MassScorecard.org Bill S. 2039 ; roll call 69, passed 112-42 May 31, 2005
Endorsed legalization of RU-486
Favored basic Roe v. Wade abortion rights, though would not endorse a specific version of the Freedom of Choice Act, which would codify those court-established rights as federal law
Said he would leave the matter of Medicaid funding for abortion to individual states
Endorsed legalization of RU-486, the abortion-inducing drug.
Source: Boston Globe review of 1994 canpaign issues Mar 21, 2002
Personally against abortion, but pro-choice as governor
Romney was asked to clarify his position on abortion. Romney's stance appeared to have changed between his 1994 campaign against Sen. Kennedy and when he moved to Utah. He recently told a Salt Lake City newspaper that he preferred not to be labeled "pro- choice."
"On a personal basis, I don't favor abortion," he said. "However, as governor of the commonwealth, I will protect a woman's right to choose under the laws of the country and the commonwealth. That's the same position I've had for many years."
Source: Erik Arvidson, Lowell Sun Mar 20, 2002
For safe, legal abortion since relative's death from illegal
Romney disclosed that he became committed to legalized abortion after a relative died during an illegal abortion. The disclosure came after Romney, who said he is personally opposed to abortion, was asked to reconcile his beliefs with his political support for abortion rights. "It is since that time that my family will not force our beliefs on that matter," He said the abortion made him see "that regardless of one's beliefs about choice, you would hope it would be safe and legal."
Source: Joe Battenfeld in Boston Herald Oct 26, 1994
http://www.ontheissues.org/2008/Mitt...y_Abortion.htm