Tuesday, November 20, 2007

My Two Cents on Romney, Abortion, Massachusetts Citizens for Life...   [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

Feel free to take everything I say about the presidential election with a grain of salt, since we all know I had an early favorite (even if I have flirted with McCain and Fred and maybe even Rudy now and again): but while I think Romney should be careful how much he waves one award around, I didn't really see that Massachusetts Citizens for Life statement Byron cites as too much of a dilution. We know Romney took a politically expedient position when running for governor, and we know once faced with real and deep life issues while governor, he did something else. He said he was wrong. How often does a pol do that? And Mass. Citizens for Life said all that.

I buy the guy is a pro-life (losing a fight with Harvard over cloning with sick people being trotted out as your opposition isn’t an obvious way to win the New Hampshire primary, after all). I’m not alone, the National Right to Life Committee’s Thompson endorsement (which a lot of pro-lifers — Romney fans and non-Romney fans were surprised by) notwithstanding. Byron’s absolutely right, of course, that Romney hasn’t “sealed the deal” on abortion, even with some significant endorsements including Paul Weyrich and National Right to Life Committee founder Jack Willke.

I’d like Romney to relay to people what I’ve long understood his story to be: He was a businessman. Abortion wasn’t really his issue. He said what he needed to say to get elected in Massachusetts — that he would not change the laws (and yes, protect a woman’s right to choose — gag) and when he faced issues he never really cared to make his political career about — life, marriage — he studied them like he studied business and law, and he changed his mind. The cloning brave new world story may not be compelling — that he was talking about embryonic-stem-cell-research in his office and realized we’ve gone too far — but it’s actually an honest reaction that resonates with pro-life types who pay attention to these issues. His reaction to Byron here reflects that this Latter-Day Lifer gets the whole culture-of-life thing:

As we talked, I began a question, “If I could separate stem cells from abortion — “

Romney quickly interrupted. “You can’t, can you?”

“Well, there are laws that deal with stem cells,” I said, “and then there is Roe itself.”

“Well, they both relate to the sanctity of human life.”

Pro-lifers want to change hearts and minds. We have a live one here. I like, even, that he gets a little testy, too with Byron (“I changed my view. Is that so difficult to understand?”). It shows he cares.

11/20 09:07 AMShare