Governor Mitt Romney and Abortion

Governor Mitt Romney and Abortion

 

Abortion Questions for Governor Mitt Romney

 

Abortion

  1. George Stephanopoulos
    1. So do you now believe that abortion is murder?
    2. Should women who have abortions and doctors who perform them be jailed?
    3. If it's killing, why should states have leeway?
    4. What do you believe the punishment should be for an abortion?
  2. Wolf Blitzer
    1. Have you changed your opinion on Abortion?
    2. What is your current position on abortion?
    3. How do you account for your change on abortion ?
  3. 1st Debate
    1. Would it be a good day for America if Roe v Wade was repealed?
    2. Have you always been for life or effectively pro-choice?
    3. When you said that being a pro-life president entails more than just appointing strict constructionist judges, was that directed at Giuliani?
  4. 2nd Debate
    1. What would you say to someone who lost a wife or a daughter to an illegal abortion if you named the Supreme Court justice who tipped the balance and over turned Roe v Wade?
    2. Governor Romney, during this campaign, you have been criticized -- and again tonight you've been criticized -- for changing your position on some issues. You say that it's a part of learning from experience. Can you point to an area in which your learning from experience led you to change to a position that is less popular with the Republican base?
  5. Katherine Jean Lopez
    1. Were you faking it when you said you were pro-choice ?
  6. Dan Balz, David S Broder and Ruth Marcus
    1. Do you support making abortion illegal?
  7. Mary Katharine Ham
    1. What do you think about the partial-birth abortion ban ?
  8. Mike Allen
    1. What policies would you initiate to show your sincerity?

Mitt Romney and Abortion News

Speeches and Editorials from Romney on Life

* Why I vetoed contraception bill, 07-26-2005, Boston Globe, Governor Mitt Romney

Quotes from Governor Mitt Romney on Roe vs. Wade

 

2005

 

  • Governor Mitt Romney, "Why I vetoed contraception bill", 07-26-2005, Boston Globe

 

  • "Let's let the states deal with it through a democratic process, rather than have a judiciary make a pronouncement of one size fits all."
    • Governor Mitt Romney

 

 

  • Romney has been a vocal opponent of the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, criticizing the "one size fits all" statute created by the ruling. The Governor believes each state should have the right to determine its own abortion laws, voicing support for efforts in states such as South Dakota to regulate abortion within its borders.

 

  • "YESTERDAY I vetoed a bill that the Legislature forwarded to my desk. Though described by its sponsors as a measure relating to contraception, there is more to it than that. The bill does not involve only the prevention of conception: The drug it authorizes would also terminate life after conception."
    • Governor Mitt Romney, "Why I vetoed contraception bill", 07-26-2005, Boston Globe

 

  • "Signing such a measure into law would violate the promise I made to the citizens of Massachusetts when I ran for governor. I pledged that I would not change our abortion laws either to restrict abortion or to facilitate it. What's more, this particular bill does not require parental consent even for young teenagers. It disregards not only the seriousness of abortion but the importance of parental involvement and so would weaken a protection I am committed to uphold."
    • Governor Mitt Romney, "Why I vetoed contraception bill", 07-26-2005, Boston Globe

 

  • "I have spoken with medical professionals to determine whether the drug contemplated under the bill would simply prevent conception or whether it would also terminate a living embryo after conception. Once it became clear that the latter was the case, my decision was straightforward. I will honor the commitment I made during my campaign: While I do not favor abortion, I will not change the state's abortion laws."
    • Governor Mitt Romney, "Why I vetoed contraception bill", 07-26-2005, Boston Globe

 

  • "I understand that my views on laws governing abortion set me in the minority in our Commonwealth. I am prolife. I believe that abortion is the wrong choice except in cases of incest, rape, and to save the life of the mother. I wish the people of America agreed, and that the laws of our nation could reflect that view. But while the nation remains so divided over abortion, I believe that the states, through the democratic process, should determine their own abortion laws and not have them dictated by judicial mandate."
    • Governor Mitt Romney, "Why I vetoed contraception bill", 07-26-2005, Boston Globe

 

  • "Because Massachusetts is decidedly prochoice, I have respected the state's democratically held view. I have not attempted to impose my own views on the prochoice majority."
    • Governor Mitt Romney, "Why I vetoed contraception bill", 07-26-2005, Boston Globe

 

  • "For all the conflicting views on this issue, it speaks well of our country that we recognize abortion as a problem. The law may call it a right, but no one ever called it a good, and, in the quiet of conscience people of both political parties know that more than a million abortions a year cannot be squared with the good heart of America."
    • Governor Mitt Romney, "Why I vetoed contraception bill", 07-26-2005, Boston Globe

 

  • "You can't be a prolife governor in a prochoice state without understanding that there are heartfelt and thoughtful arguments on both sides of the question. Many women considering abortions face terrible pressures, hurts, and fears; we should come to their aid with all the resourcefulness and empathy we can offer. At the same time, the starting point should be the innocence and vulnerability of the child waiting to be born."
    • Governor Mitt Romney, "Why I vetoed contraception bill", 07-26-2005 , Boston Globe

 

  • "In some respects, these convictions have evolved and deepened during my time as governor. 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."
    • Governor Mitt Romney, "Why I vetoed contraception bill", 07-26-2005, Boston Globe

 

  • "I have also observed the bitterness and fierce anger that still linger 32 years after Roe v. Wade. The majority in the US Supreme Court's Casey opinion assured us this would pass away as Americans learned to live with abortion on demand. But this has proved a false hope."
    • Governor Mitt Romney, "Why I vetoed contraception bill", 07-26-2005, Boston Globe

 

  • "There is much in the abortion controversy that America's founders would not recognize. Above all, those who wrote our Constitution would wonder why the federal courts had peremptorily removed the matter from the authority of the elected branches of government. The federal system left to us by the Constitution allows people of different states to make their own choices on matters of controversy, thus avoiding the bitter battles engendered by one size fits all" judicial pronouncements. A federalist approach would allow such disputes to be settled by the citizens and elected representatives of each state, and appropriately defer to democratic governance."
    • Governor Mitt Romney, "Why I vetoed contraception bill", 07-26-2005 , Boston Globe

 

  • "Except on matters of the starkest clarity like the issue of banning partial-birth abortions, there is not now a decisive national consensus on abortion. Some parts of the country have prolife majorities, others have prochoice majorities. People of good faith on both sides of the issue should be able to make and advance their case in democratic forums -- with civility, mutual respect, and confidence that democratic majorities will prevail. We will never have peace on the abortion issue, much less a consensus of conscience, until democracy is allowed to work its way."
    • Governor Mitt Romney, "Why I vetoed contraception bill", 07-26-2005, Boston Globe

 

  • "Let's let the states deal with it through a democratic process, rather than have a judiciary make a pronouncement of one size fits all."''
    • Governor Mitt Romney

 

  • "…each state should be able to make its own decision, and allow those states that are strongly pro-life to make laws that fulfill the will of their own citizens." –
    • Governor Mitt Romney, Interview with Hugh Hewitt (July 2005)

 

 

Beliefs About Governor Mitt Romney on the topic of Abortion

 

Governor Mitt Romney has the best abortion stance.

Reasons to agree:

  1. When it comes to abortion, Mitt Romney thinks the people should choose not the courts . And he is right.
  2. Romney respects the rights of states to choose differently than he does. Or in other words he doesn't try and impose his own will on those who disagree with him. This is good.

Reasons to disagree

  1. Some other people have been more consistent when it comes to abortion, and we need consistency out of someone when deciding to let them affect the abortion debate.
  2. Those on the far right might not like that he support abortion except in cases of rape, incest, and when the life of a mother is threatened.
  3. Those on the left are very afraid that Roe vs. Wade will be over turned. Mitt Romney has been calling for this longer than any other 2008 presidential candidate.
  4. Romney has said that his views on abortion have "evolved" and "changed" since 2002 such that he now considers himself a "pro-life governor" who wishes "the laws of our nation could reflect that view." Some people do not think someone in their 40's or 50's can change their mind on Abortion. They see his change as being two faced or opportunistic.
  5. Governor Mitt Romney is personally pro-life , which is good.

 

Governor Mitt Romney is "personally pro-life" which is good.

Reasons to agree:

  1. "It is very conceivable that scientific advances will allow an embryo to be grown for a substantial period of time outside the uterus. To say that it is not life at one month or two months or four months or full term, just because it has never been in a uterus, would be absurd." - Governor Mitt Romney
  2. Romney has identified himself as a pro-life politician.
  3. He does not support abortion except in cases of rape, incest, and when the life of a mother is threatened.
  4. Romney has been a vocal opponent of the Supreme Court decision in Roe vs Wade, criticizing the "one size fits all" statute created by the ruling. The Governor believes each state should have the right to determine its own abortion laws, voicing support for efforts in states such as South Dakota to regulate abortion within its borders.

 

Reasons to disagree:

  1. Being "personally pro-life" means nothing.

 

Websites that agree:

  1. http://www.americansformitt.com/prolife_perspective.html

Mitt Romney is the only candidate with the credibility to oversee the reversal of Roe vs wade .

Reasons to agree

  1. He respects the rights of states to choose differently than he does. Or in other words he doesn't try and impose his own will on those who disagree with him.

 

Mitt Romney was strategic. He knew he couldn't win the abortion battle in Massachusetts, so he gave in. He chose his battles. You shouldn't choose your battles, you should always fight for the right, even if you loose.

 

Related Issues

Governor Mitt Romney supports stem cell research using surplus embryos but opposes the use of cloning to create new embryos.

 

Governor Mitt Romney's Wikipedia Abortion Write Up

 

In 1994, Romney also said that he was personally opposed to abortion. He also said that he became committed to legalized abortion after the death of a family friend in an illegal abortion made him see "that regardless of one's beliefs about choice, you would hope it would be safe and legal."

 

"Many years ago, I had a dear, close family relative that was very close to me who passed away from an illegal abortion," Romney said in a televised debate opposite Senator Edward Kennedy. "It is since that time 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." The person Romney was referring to was a teenage girl engaged to marry a member of Romney's extended family. Romney's sister Jane has said that the girl's death changed the family's perspective on the legality of abortion. "With my mom, that was a personal thing because we had a tragedy close to us -- not in our immediate family, but a young girl who actually was engaged and had an illegal abortion and died." "She was a beautiful, talented young gal we all loved. And it pretty much ruined the parents -- their only daughter. You would do anything not to repeat that."

 

Romney has said he has kept his campaign promises. Romney vetoed an emergency contraception bill in July 2005, claiming that allowing it to pass into law would violate his "moratorium" on changes to the abortion laws.

 

 

Prior to his run for governor Romney told a newspaper in Salt Lake City Utah that he did not want to be classified as a "pro-choice" politician.

Abortion Debate

You should always choose life.

 

Links

  1. http://del.icio.us/myclob/abortion%2C
  2. http://sanity.blog-city.com/read/abortion.htm
  3. http://dmoz.org/Society/Issues/Abortion/

 

Related Topics

Roe vs Wade

 

Video of Governor Mitt Romney discussing Abortion.

 

If you go to Google Video and type Mitt Romney, you will find this video:

 

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4362623183954478320&q=tvshow%3ACharlie_Rose

 

The Governor Mitt Romney interview takes about 20 min. If you just want to watch the part about this topic, go to this portion of the video:

 

Abortion: 15:20 min

Abortion State by state 16:04 min

 

Abortion Debate

  1. * "…each state should be able to make its own decision, and allow those states that are strongly pro-life to make laws that fulfill the will of their own citizens." Governor Mitt Romney, Interview with Hugh Hewitt (July 2005)
  2. Judges, and congressmen have no more insight into life issues than the rest of us.
  3. People on both sides of the abortion debate over simplistic.
  4. Not only are some opinions wrong to have, some conversation topics are wrong to discuss.
  5. Mitt Romney is the most conservative of the viable 08 candidates
  6. Romney is a conservative on abstinence education.
  7. Romney changed his position on abortion .
  8. Full term fetuses have developed a relationship with their mother .
  9. You can't just say abortion is wrong-it is more complicated .
  10. If abortion is wrong, it is wrong in every state.
  11. The federal government cannot say when life begins.
  12. People can vote with their feet if they don't like their states abortion laws.
  13. The USA will never come to a consensus on Abortion.
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