Why abortion would be part of Romney's agenda

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks to supporters at a rally on a farm on October 9, 2012 near Van Meter, Iowa.

While Mitt Romney told an Iowa newspaper that there is no abortion legislation that he's "familiar with that would become part" of his presidential agenda, Romney overlooked what he has touted will be one of his first acts as president: the repeal of President Obama's health care law.

Conservatives oppose the health care law for a number of reasons, and for abortion opponents, undoing Obamacare is also a top priority since they say the law is one of the largest expansions of abortion access.

The Republican nominee told the Des Moines Register editorial board Tuesday that abortion would not be an issue in a Romney presidency, saying, "There's no legislation with regards to abortion that I'm familiar with that would become part of my agenda."

The Obama campaign responded sharply to the statement, saying that Romney has switched his position again. They point to statements during the Republican primary where he said he would "defund" Planned Parenthood and appoint Supreme Court justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade.

"The real Mitt Romney will say anything to win," Obama campaign spokesperson Stephanie Cutter told reporters Wednesday.

• Romney: Abortion not on my agenda
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Immediately after his statement regarding abortion legislation, Romney's spokesperson Andrea Saul said Romney "would of course support legislation aimed at providing greater protections for life."

Romney himself weighed in Wednesday when asked about the issue in Delaware, Ohio. "I think I've said time and again that I'm a pro-life candidate and I'll be a pro-life president," he told reporters. "The actions I'll take immediately is to remove funding for Planned Parenthood. It will not be part of my budget. And also I've indicated that I will reverse the Mexico City position of the president. I will reinstate the Mexico City policy which keeps us from using foreign aid for abortions overseas."

Romney had told the Register that he would reinstate the so-called "Mexico City policy" that bans U.S. foreign aid from being used for abortions, pointing out that President Obama dropped the policy on his 10th day in office.

Romney failed to mention, however, that he has vowed on day one of his presidency to repeal the health care law. One of the many controversial components of the Affordable Care Act is its impact on access to abortion. If Romney won and successfully repealed the law, it could open up the doors to another vocal debate on the issue, and, according to social conservatives, would be a massive win for abortion opponents.

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[tsigili]

This article is blatantly false, and obviously written by a total partisan Democrat author.

[Protect_US_Jobs]

Seems in previous elections that both parties were always able to distract and polarize voters with insignificant peripheral issues, which ended up getting most voters so caught up in the BS that they'd lose sight of the bigger picture. Not this time!

If they (Both Parties) don't start addressing the real problems in our country like "out-sourcing", illegal immigration and the out of control costs of health care insurance, by the next election - American citizens may just have to run a nation-wide campaign to vote every single incumbent elected official out of office, so that maybe they'll finally get the message.

Wouldn't it be More Productive if Our Elected Leaders Started Working Together as AMERICANS for AMERICANS and AMERICA, instead of just bickering, stalling and posturing for the next election as democrats and republicans! The American People have had it with this unproductive BS! The sad thing is that both parties stink! Neither party is really looking out for the best interest of the US citizens who elect them and who they're supposed to represent.

[clb2012now]

Since CNN, ABC NBC etc don't know how to use a dictionary or Wikipedia, I submit the following:

"legislation" =?is law which has been promulgated (or "enacted") by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it.?IN AMERICA THIS IS CONGRESS
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"executive order" = order or directive issued by the head of the executive branch IN AMERICA THIS IS DONE BY PRESIDENT
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"I'm familiar" = that the speaker is aware of IMHO NOT PRESUMING TO KNOW EVERYTHING

Original article ... read it from the source not regurgitated through someone else lens.
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http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2012/10/10/decoding-mitt-romneys-stance-on-abortion/article?nclick_check=1

Actual quotes:?(My emphasis added)"There's no legislation (legislation starts in Congress) with regards to abortion that I'm (Mitt is not presuming to know every piece of legislation being discussed in Congress) familiar with that would become part of my agenda. One thing I would change, however, which would be done by executive order (executive orders are president's pervue), not by legislation, is that I would reinstate the Mexico City policy, which is that foreign aid dollars from the United States would not be used to carry out abortion in other countries. It's long been our practice here that taxpayer dollars are not to be used to fund abortion in this country. President Obama on the 10th day of his administration changed the Mexico City policy to say that abortion services were not prohibited in our foreign aid dollars. I would go back to the original so-called Mexico City policy."
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In a September "Meet the Press" appearance, Romney said the he would "encourage pro-life policies." (policies are not legislation) As for any Supreme Court justices he would nominate, Romney said "it would be my preference that they (Supreme Court)?reverse Roe v. Wade and therefore they return to the people and their elected representatives the decisions with regards to this important issue."
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The appearance seemingly syncs with statements on the "Values" section of Romney's own website. In short, Romney's website states that the former governor:
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- "believes that the right next step is for the Supreme Court (not the Presidenyt)to overturn Roe v. Wade."
- "supports the Hyde Amendment, which broadly bars the use of federal funds for abortions."(this is done by executive order)
- believes "this country should not be silent in the face of injustices like China's One-Child policy. No one will ever hear a President Romney or his vice president tell the Chinese government that "I fully understand" and won't "second guess" compulsory sterilization and forced abortion."
- "will ensure that American laws reflect America's values of preserving life at home and abroad." (the executive order mentioned about Mexico).

[AOCGUY]

I would consider that rather long and uninformative post as quibbling.

[cubscout09]

The fact that Mitt has to have the the scope of the POTUS' job explained to him, every couple of days, is really shaking my confidence in Mitt's leadership abilities.

[JV1970]

Someone should explain to Barack Obama that the scope of the POTUS' job has it's limits and doesn't extend to being a dictator too!

[AOCGUY]

Maybe someone should explain that to Romney who apparantly thinks that as POTUS he can single handedly repeal a law passed by both houses of Congress and signed by the POTUS.