The abortion issue returned to the
fore of the presidential campaign Wednesday as Mitt Romneyreaffirmed his
opposition and said he would act from theWhite House to reduce the incidence of
abortion in the United States and around the world.
"I think
I've said time and again, I'm a pro-life candidate. I'll be a pro-life
president," the Republican presidential nominee told reporters at a
campaign stop in this central Ohio suburb.
"The actions
I'll take immediately are to remove funding forPlanned Parenthood. It will not
be part of my budget," Romney said. "And also I've indicated I'll reverse
the Mexico City position of the president. I will reinstate the Mexico City
policy."
That was a
reference to a ban on taxpayer funding for international groups that perform
abortions or provide abortion counseling, a policy named after the city where
it was announced. The ban has routinely been repealed under Democratic
presidents and reinstated under Republicans.
The abortion
issue, which became a brief focal point of the presidential campaign over the
summer, resurfaced after a Romney interview with the Des Moines Register in
which he seemed to downplay its import. He told the newspaper that there was
"no legislation with regards to abortion that I'm familiar with that would
become part of my agenda."
Soon after his
remarks were posted online Tuesday, a Romney spokeswoman told the Associated
Press, "Mitt Romney is proudly pro-life, and he will be a pro-life
president."
"Gov. Romney
would of course support legislation aimed at providing greater protections for
life," spokeswoman Andrea Saul said.
Weighing in from
the White House on Wednesday, President Obama accused Romney of deliberately
fuzzing up his position. "Four weeks before the election, he is trying to
cloud the question when it comes to women's right to control their own
healthcare decisions," Obama said in an ABC News interview.
"The one
thing that I think people — Republicans as well asDemocrats — can say is that
there has been consistency with me from the time that I started running for
president to today," said Obama, who took the day off the campaign trail.
"And there will be consistency all the way through the next four years of
my presidency. People will know where I stand, what I believe, what I'm
fighting for. And that's part of leadership."
As the governor
of left-leaning Massachusetts, Romney supported legal abortion — one reason he
has been viewed with distrust by many social conservatives. He took a firm
antiabortion stance during the Republican primaries both times he ran for
president, opposing abortion in all instances except for cases involving rape
or incest or to save the life of the mother.
Romney said he
would appoint Supreme Court justices he hoped would overturn Roe vs. Wade, the
decision legalizing abortion, and said in a 2007 debate that if Congress passed
an abortion ban, "I'd be delighted to sign that bill."
Social
conservatives pointedly reminded Romney of that position Wednesday. The Susan
B. Anthony List, an antiabortion group, distributed an article Romney wrote
vowing to prohibit federal funding for Planned Parenthood and backing
legislation that would "protect unborn children who are capable of feeling
pain from abortion." In the June 2011 article, Romney also reiterated his
support for overturning Roe vs. Wade.
"We have
full confidence that as president, Gov. Romney will stand by the pro-life
commitments," said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the group.
But Romney's
positions on abortion and birth control have alienated more moderate women,
contributing to a gender gap that has benefited Obama. Romney has worked to
make up some of that ground in the aftermath of his strong debate performance
last week.
The abortion
issue flared over the summer after Republican Rep. Todd Akin of Missouri, a
candidate for U.S. Senate, said women had the ability to avoid pregnancy in
cases of "legitimate" rape. Romney was among Republicans who urged
Akin to quit the Senate race, to no avail.
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