Romney鈥檚 wavering path on abortion. Do voters care?
Mitt Romney is having to talk about abortion a lot more than he鈥檇 like to these days for one key reason: His history on this important social issue is, shall we say, very mixed.
Also, it鈥檚 a wedge issue that鈥檚 increasingly important to the Obama campaign, which some polls show is seeing a drop in what had been its clear lead among women voters. As a result, both sides have hustled out new ads on the subject.
A USA Today/Gallup Poll of swing states this week shows why it could be an important issue in the election.
When women were asked to identify the most important issue for them, the top concern by far was abortion, an issue that didn't even register among men, USA Today reported. Nearly four in 10 women cited it, and those who did supported Obama by more than 3-1.
搁贰颁翱惭惭贰狈顿贰顿:听Obama vs. Romney 101: 5 differences on women's issues
Back in 1994 when he was challenging Ted Kennedy for a seat in the US Senate, Romney declared that 鈥渁bortion should be safe and legal in this country.鈥�
鈥淚 believe that since聽Roe v. Wade聽has been the law for 20 years, that we should sustain and support it, and I sustain and support that law,鈥� he said then.
Two important things he noted at the time: His position was the same his mother took when she ran unsuccessfully for a US Senate seat in Michigan in 1970. And he wouldn鈥檛 let his personal opposition to abortion (tied to his Mormon faith) get in the way of 鈥渢he right of a woman to make that choice.鈥�
Mr. Romney lost that race, but his position on abortion (in liberal Massachusetts) didn鈥檛 change when he ran successfully for governor six years later. 鈥淎s Governor, Mitt Romney would protect the current pro-choice status quo in Massachusetts,鈥� his platform stated. 鈥淣o law would change." Note that he wasn鈥檛 just acknowledging the Bay State鈥檚 pro-choice preference on abortion but vowing to 鈥減rotect鈥� it.
Three years later, his rhetoric on abortion had changed significantly.
"I am pro-life,鈥� he wrote in a Boston Globe op-ed in 2005.
鈥淚 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,鈥� he wrote. 鈥淏ut 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.鈥�
Today, that last phrase 鈥� 鈥渄ictated by judicial mandate鈥� 鈥� is what has abortion rights advocates worried.
Romney was saying that the legality of abortion should be left to the states, implying that Roe v. Wade had been judicial overreach. More recently, Romney鈥檚 campaign website calls the 1973 landmark US Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion 鈥渁 case of blatant judicial activism,鈥� and he promises to 鈥渘ominate judges who know the difference between personal opinion and the law鈥� 鈥� presumably including US Supreme Court justices more in line with his thinking.
Four of the nine Supreme Court justices are in their 70s. They could serve for many more years. But should any of them retire, the next president would nominate their successor. If that鈥檚 Mitt Romney, the likelihood of a new direction on federal abortion law is greater. And as Slate鈥檚 David Weigel points out, 鈥淥verturn Roe, and in a聽vast swath of the country abortion is illegal, immediately.鈥�
During the Republican primary campaign, Romney told Fox News commentator Mike Huckabee that he 鈥渁bsolutely鈥� supports a Constitutional amendment banning abortion.
As the presidential campaign accelerates toward Election Day Nov. 6, both sides are pushing new TV ads on abortion.
An Obama ad 鈥� featuring a snippet from a 2007 Republican primary debate for the 2008 election 鈥� warns that Romney wants to ban 鈥渁ll abortions.鈥� A Romney ad has a woman 鈥� a former Obama supporter 鈥� pointing out that Romney 鈥渋n fact thinks abortion should be an option in cases of rape, incest, or to save a mother鈥檚 life鈥� 鈥� the point Romney himself emphasizes in campaign appearances.
Abortion is a tricky issue for both campaigns.
A CBS/New York Times poll last month had a plurality of those surveyed (42 percent) agreeing that abortion should be 鈥済enerally available.鈥� But a substantial 35 percent said it should be 鈥渁vailable under stricter limits鈥� 鈥� presumably something closer to Romney鈥檚 current position 鈥� and 20 percent said abortion 鈥渟hould not be permitted.鈥�
While anti-abortion groups and Romney running mate Rep. Paul Ryan (at least before he joined the ticket) oppose the procedure under any circumstances, Romney鈥檚 allowing for some important exceptions appears not to be a political problem for social conservatives.
鈥淲e wouldn鈥檛 have endorsed him if I didn鈥檛 truly believe he鈥檚 truly pro-life and has that conviction,鈥� Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the anti-abortion Susan B. Anthony List, told Talking Points Memo.
搁贰颁翱惭惭贰狈顿贰顿:听Obama vs. Romney 101: 5 differences on women's issues
