There really isn't a position on abortion that Mitt Romney hasn't taken. He has promised to support
Roe v. Wade. He has promised to support a constitutional amendment defining an egg as a person. He has promised to support abortion in cases of rape and incest. And he has changed his mind about all of those things.
So it's not surprising that he can't even keep track of what he thinks now, and neither can his campaign.
Romney today:
There’s no legislation with regards to abortion that I’m familiar with that would become part of my agenda.
Romney's campaign, about two hours later:
. @andreamsaul on Romney's abortion comment to DMR: Rom "wld of course support legislation aimed at providing greater protections for life"
— @KatrinaTrinko via web
Romney's
website:
Americans have a moral duty to uphold the sanctity of life and protect the weakest, most vulnerable and most innocent among us. As president, Mitt will ensure that American laws reflect America’s values of preserving life at home and abroad.
Romney on
Meet the Press in
September:
MR. ROMNEY: But I am pro-life and will intend, if I'm president of the United States, to encourage pro-life policies. I don't--
GREGORY: Just encourage or fight for [Roe v. Wade] to be overturned?
MR. ROMNEY: Well, I don't actually make the decision the Supreme Court makes and so they'll have to make their own decision. [...] And I hope to appoint justices to the Supreme Court that will follow the law and the constitution. And it would be my preference that they reverse Roe v. Wade and therefore they return to the people and their elected representatives the decisions with regards to this important issue.
Romney in
August:
My position has been clear throughout this campaign. I'm in favor of abortion being legal in the case of rape and incest and the health and life of the mother. But recognize, this is the decision that will be made by the Supreme Court. The Democrats try and make this a political issue every four years, but this is a matter in the courts. It's been settled for some time in the courts.
Romney in
2011:
HUCKABEE: Would you have supported a constitutional amendment that would have established the definition of life at conception?
ROMNEY: Absolutely.
Romney on
Meet the Press in
2007:
I was always personally opposed to abortion, as I think almost everyone in this nation is. [...] Every piece of legislation which came to my desk in the coming years as the governor, I came down on the side of preserving the sanctity of life.
Romney in a
2007 Republican debate:
Q: If hypothetically, Roe v. Wade was overturned, and the Congress passed a federal ban on all abortions and it came to your desk, would you sign it?
A: Let me say it. I’d be delighted to sign that bill. But that’s not where we are. That’s not where America is today. Where America is is ready to overturn Roe v. Wade and return to the states that authority. But if the Congress got there, we had that kind of consensus in that country, terrific.
And of course, Romney in
1994:
I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country. [...] I believe that since Roe v. Wade has been the law for 20 years, that we should sustain and support it and I sustain and support that law and the right of the woman to make that choice. [...] And you will not see me wavering on that.
No wonder Romney and his campaign can't keep track.
