People are justifiably outraged about the decision by the Susan Komen Foundation to eliminate all financial support of Planned Parenthood. No doubt there are many moderate Republican women who share in the anger and will stop donating to Komen. I can guess that many of these women support the Mitt Romney since he seems like the more "moderate" Republican candidate. That's why they need to be reminded that Mittens shares Komen's radical right-wing agenda with respect to women's health.
As president, I will end federal funding for abortion advocates like Planned Parenthood. I will protect a health care worker’s right to follow their conscience in their work. And I will nominate judges who know the difference between personal opinion and the law. It is long past time for the Supreme Court to return the issue of abortion back to the states, by overturning Roe v. Wade. - Romney's speech at the Value Voters Conference, October 8, 2011
Now some people may claim that Romney doesn't really believe these radical positions, and he's just pretending so that he can win the nomination. And it's true, Romney has been on all sides of so many issues that it's impossible to know what he really believes, if anything at all.
Moderates can point to Romney's responses in 2002 on a Planned Parenthood Questionnaire where he reaffirmed his support of state-funding for abortion for low-income women.
But Romney often speaks about his "pro-life conversion" while serving as governor of Massachusetts. And, whether his conversion was truly heartfelt or simply a matter of political pragmatism as he contemplated running for president, Romney did act against the interest of women by vetoing an emergency contraception bill in 2005. He explained his decision in a Boston Globe op/ed piece:
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.
So, we should take Mittens at his word. If he wins the White House he WILL eliminate the funding of Planned Parenthood, and he WILL use the bully pulpit to influence the Supreme Court to overturn Roe vs. Wade.
So we need to channel the outrage against Komen to outrage against Mitt Romney and the Republican platform.
Mtt Romney: I will end federal funding for Planned Parenthood.