Massachusetts Gov. Romney Forms Presidential Campaign Committee; Criticized By DNC For Past Abortion Statements

The Democratic National Committee on Wednesday criticized Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) for statements he made about abortion while in office and during previous senatorial campaigns, the Los Angeles Times reports. Romney, who officially leaves office Thursday, filed papers with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday to form a presidential campaign exploratory committee (Gerstenzang, Los Angeles Times, 1/4). Since Romney first ran for U.S. Senate in 1994, he has acknowledged that his position on abortion has changed from supporting abortion rights to saying that he would prefer to have Roe v. Wade -- the 1973 Supreme Court decision that effectively barred state abortion bans -- overturned. Romney, during his election campaign for the U.S. Senate, in 1994 said, "I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country," adding, "I believe that since Roe v. Wade has been the law for 20 years, we should sustain and support it." When he ran for Massachusetts governor in 2002, Romney promised to "preserve the status quo" on abortion rights in the state and oppose any changes to state laws that restricted or increased access to abortion. Romney in 2004 while studying human embryonic stem cell research said he experienced an awakening that led him to believe "the sanctity of life had been cheapened" by the Roe decision (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 12/21/06). According to Democrats, Romney in February 2006 said, "I've never used either title, pro-life or pro-choice, in the past. I said I don't favor abortion." In October 2006 Romney said, "I call myself firmly pro-life" (Los Angeles Times, 1/4). "While Mitt Romney says he's not a multiple-choice candidate, his record shows that he has routinely changed his position on everything from abortion to taxes, making it difficult to know where he stands," DNC spokesperson Stacie Paxton said (Johnson, AP/San Diego Union-Tribune, 1/3). Kevin Madden, Romney's communications director, said, "If the DNC is after us, we must be doing something right" (Los Angeles Times, 1/4).

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