Romney contradicts past comments on abortion

Updated 11:04 p.m. Eastern Time

Mitt Romney suggested during a Republican presidential debate Monday night that he has always personally opposed abortion rights.

Asked to show he wouldn't change positions in the future, Romney responded: "You know, the issue where I change my mind, which obviously draws a lot of attention was that when I was running for governor, I said I would leave the law in place as it related to abortion. And I thought I could go in that narrow path between my personal belief and letting government stay out of the issue."

Romney's comment is a little bit difficult to parse. But he seems to be drawing a distinction between his supposed personal opposition to abortion rights and his role as a lawmaker, which involved "letting government stay out of the issue" -- that is, giving individuals the choice over whether to have abortions.

Yet in 1994, Romney was adamant that he personally supported abortion rights, as the video at left makes clear.

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"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 U.S. Senate candidate," he said then. "I believe that since Roe v. Wade has been the law for 20 years, that we should sustain and support it."

At the time, Romney explained his support for abortion rights by pointing to a personal experience.

"I have my own beliefs, and those beliefs are very dear to me," he said. "One of them is that I do not impose my beliefs on other people. Many, many years ago, I had a dear, close family relative that was very close to me who passed away from an illegal abortion. It is since that time that my mother and my family have been committed to the belief that we can believe as we want, but we will not force our beliefs on others on that matter. And you will not see me wavering on that."

During the debate, Romney also said that he eventually "penned an op-ed in the Boston Globe and said I'm pro-life, described my view and served as a pro-life governor."

If Romney was indeed "a pro-life governor," as he said, he broke a campaign promise. In a 2002 debate during his successful gubernatorial run, Romney said, "I will preserve and protect a woman's right to choose, and am devoted and dedicated to honoring my word in that regard." He also said in that debate that he rejects the label "pro-life."

Asked about Romney's comments in the spin room after Monday's debate, Romney Senior Adivisor Eric Fehrnstrom said this: "The governor explained that when he ran for governor in 2002 that he was personally pro-life, but he said that he would observe a moratorium, if you will, on changes to the abortion laws of the commonwealth. He wouldn't add to them, but he wouldn't subtract from them either. And that's a commitment he kept all 4 years of his governorship. it just so happened all of the abortion related legislation that our 85 percent democrat legislature was producing was pro-choice legislation, such as the embryonic cloning bill, emergency contraception, so the governor was in a position to veto those, and still keep his promise to voters."

With reporting by CBS News/National Journal off-air reporter Sarah Boxer.

[vissionquest]

Don't you right wing republicans understand, the position of the president is not about abortion, it is about money, money for corporations, money for foreign companies, money for power, money for the rich. But to get the presidentcy these politicians need your vote and you sell it for their agreeing with you on abortion. Or some of you sell your vote for a hope of anti-gay rights, and even some sell it so just in case you ever get rich you can pay less percentage of taxes than you do now. But make no mistake, they use your vote to ignore the environment, they use your vote so save oil companies money, they use your vote to support dictators in corporate friendly countries, and they use your vote to spread hate among fellow citizens. They show you the religion you want, they show you the government you want, they show you the patriots you want, but as long as they get your vote, they have no problems working against you.

[kansas1946]

"and is filled with wild and fantastical stories and theories about reality-"
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Hmmm...have you really ever thought about what any Christian expects people to believe? All of it sounds pretty fantastical to me. Mormons don't have any more "fantastical" beliefs than any Christian. They are just different.

[kansas1946]

"I have my own beliefs, and those beliefs are very dear to me," he said. "One of them is that I do not impose my beliefs on other people. Many, many years ago, I had a dear, close family relative that was very close to me who passed away from an illegal abortion. It is since that time that my mother and my family have been committed to the belief that we can believe as we want, but we will not force our beliefs on others on that matter. And you will not see me wavering on that."
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Had he stayed true to that belief, I might be inclined to vote for him. As it is, forget it.

[mm334]

Kansas1946 - totally agree with your comments. He made those statements before an audience at that debate. How can he turn around now and change his platform - a true flip-flopper if ever there was one.

[SanitySoapBox]

I'm certainly glad to see this public change in position. This is definitely a change in the right direction. He's looking more and more viable as a real Obama-crusher.

[hopetrumps]

All good Christians and other truthseekers should google "tract mormon"---there's loads of excellent tracts explaining "mormonism"----It's one thing to have a different religion, but it's another thing to distort the truth as Mitt Romney does so consistently--if he isn't telling an outright whopper he's twisting truth so ugly that it bleeds---truth is, Mormonism is based on a "prophet" that came AFTER Jesus Christ like Mohammedanism and is filled with wild and fantastical stories and theories about reality--Good Christians and all men of good will: print those tracts out and distribute them before good people are fooled before they vote!

[SanitySoapBox]

As a Christian, I too have many strong objections to the Mormon doctrinal claims. But I don't believe I'm going too far to say that Americans have separated religion from presidential qualifications before, and we can do it again. Although I certainly hope Romney and all others will one day see the light as it has been objectively revealed by God, I do not believe his current religious views would disqualify him from the job as president. So as a Christian, I would not hold that against him.

[Ericwvb]

A real "stop the presses" headline would be "Mitt Romney does NOT contradict past comments on _____"

[Tired_of_liars]

by goptarded January 17, 2012 10:30 AM EST
I can't decide if this clown sounds more like Donald Rumsfield or Alberto Gonzales.
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Another lame Democrat who takes pride in bashing other people. Most be part of there motto, do as I say, not as I do

[bobnjersey]

[Romney's comment is a little bit difficult to parse.]
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it's not meant to be parsed ... it's meant to speak to whomever hears it ... and for it to say what they want to hear. he's claiming both positions ... he's for it if you're for it ... and he's against it if you're against it.

he's like the 'every mans' candidate!

[ibsteve2u]

Romney...very Republican in that he makes it clear that the ends justify any means.

[SanitySoapBox]

Such tactics, regardless of whether they are actually being used in this case, are certainly not restricted to Republicans. Democrats are every bit as skilled in the dualistic arts of Pragmatism, Utilitarianism, and Pluralism. You seem to be under the impression they are not every bit as guilty.

[HolyVoice]

Like any good salesman, he tells people what they want to hear. The circumstance of leading a venture capital firm is that you must be able to cover any objections, and close the deal. Nothing wrong with that, but know that the spiel is meant to lure people into the desire results.