Mitt Romney Attended A Planned Parenthood Fundraiser In 1994

Romney On Abortion In 2002

Mitt Romney Abortion Flip Flop Quiz

I think the video gives Romney a chance to share his side of things, but check this out over at HotAir.com: Heart-ache: Mitt attended Planned Parenthood fundraiser in 1994; Update: Medved to Mitt supporters — stop whining about bigotry

Quoting HotAir's quote:

Mitt Romney attended a fund-raising reception for Planned Parenthood in 1994 in conjunction with a $150 donation his wife made to the organization — notwithstanding Romney’s contention that he had “no recollection” of the circumstances under which his wife made gave money to the abortion-rights group.

In the photograph obtained by ABC News, Romney and his wife, Ann, are shown in a yellow-and-white tent chatting with local political activists, including Nicki Nichols Gamble, who was then president and CEO of the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts…

“They were both there, and I remember very well chatting with both of them, and talking about his support for the pro-choice agenda,” she said. “We talked about the fact that he was taking a pro-choice position on the issues, and we were very pleased about that.”…

“I can understand that he might not remember the check — it’s surprising to me that he would not remember the event,” she said. “His main motivation for being there was a political motivation.”

I continue to think Mitt Romney is not the best candidate for the Republican nomination, and I do think people can change, but it's hard to tell if he's being sincere in his conversion on abortion, since he was so clearly supportive of "abortion rights" until he ran for president. I don't think it would be a shame for Mitt Romney to lose the chance to be President of the United States for supporting legal abortion in the past. The same goes for Rudy Giuliani (who still supports abortion). I would be happy for Republican politicians to learn a lesson from them that supporting abortion publicly over and over again is political suicide for Republicans who want to run for president.

I also agree with those who want Romney supporters to stop complaining that opposition to Romney is anti-Mormon bigotry. My main problem with Romney is because of his previous support for abortion. I will admit that his religion concerns me, but I do think there are some Mormons I might vote for, just not this one. I can't shake the concern that his conversion on abortion is more about political expediency than personal conviction. When a man can speak as sincerely as he does in the video above, but express equal conviction when professing his passionate zeal for defending abortion rights, one has to wonder whether such a person can be trusted at all.

See also: Jimmy Akin On Mitt Romney's Speech: Not Impressed

Any thoughts?

Comments

[carlos]

While I differ with your opinion regarding Mitt's sincere conversion with respect to abortion, I can certainly understand the suspicion among those who ponder his changed views. I do not think that pointing out his altered views on abortion is anti-Mormonism.

I think what makes his conversion unique is that he was a chief executive forced into the position of either approving or vetoing taxpayer funded destructive embryonic stem cell research. Likewise, he was a governor forced to resort to a petition to call the Massachusetts legislature back into session to vote on a marriage bill. These are very unique situations that few, if any, of us will ever face. In the face of such turmoil, I do not think it strange that introspection may lead one to pursue a moral path.

[Z]

Can a person who used to be in strong support of abortion change their mind?

I did.

The question: Is Romney legit?

I do think so.

[Z]

PS, I do not think any criticism of Romney is Bigotry. In fact, I think this has been a tactic by some conservatives that is almost embarrassing..like the claims from Hugh Hewitt, whom I usuallly like. However, I run mostly in Catholic circles, and I would probably say that if a Catholic was running, and I saw Protestants complaining that he was a Catholic, I'd probably call it bigotry.

[kinoc]

I, too, supported Planned Parenthood many years ago but have come around as I got older and wiser. 1994 was 13 years ago. I think Romney got older and wiser too.

Regarding bigotry, it is bigotry against Mormons as much as it is a question about whether he will stand fast regarding his opposition to abortion? Personally I think he will.

[kinoc]

I, too, supported Planned Parenthood many years ago but have come around as I got older and wiser. 1994 was 13 years ago. I think Romney got older and wiser too.

Regarding bigotry, it is bigotry against Mormons as much as it is a question about whether he will stand fast regarding his opposition to abortion? Personally I think he will.

[kinoc]

I, too, supported Planned Parenthood many years ago but have come around as I got older and wiser. 1994 was 13 years ago. I think Romney got older and wiser too.

Regarding bigotry, it is bigotry against Mormons as much as it is a question about whether he will stand fast regarding his opposition to abortion? Personally I think he will.

[kinoc]

I, too, supported Planned Parenthood many years ago but have come around as I got older and wiser. 1994 was 13 years ago. I think Romney got older and wiser too.

Regarding bigotry, it is bigotry against Mormons as much as it is a question about whether he will stand fast regarding his opposition to abortion? Personally I think he will.

[Jimbo]

"I would be happy for Republican politicians to learn a lesson from them that supporting abortion publicly over and over again is political suicide for Republicans who want to run for president."

I'm sure you think that about Ronald Reagan too, right? It would have been better that he never become president, right?

You're being very short-sighted on this. You're wrong. It's that simple.

If we can't allow people to convert to right positions then we should stop pretending to be Christians.

Is Romney being an opportunist? Maybe. Maybe not. You have no way of knowing, dismiss what he says publically now, and want the anti-abortion position to suffer because of imperfection. I'm not such a perfectionist.

[JIL LEHR]

I SUPPORT MITT ROMNEY BECAUSE HE HAS GOOD VALUES. I THINK HIS CHANGE OF HEART ON THE ABORTION ISSUE IS GREAT. AFTER ALL ISN'T THAT WHAT WE ARE PRAYING FOR....WE WANT PRO CHOICE PEOPLE TO COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT PRO LIFE IS THE RIGHT POSITION. WHY ARE WE READY TO CONDEMN PEOPLE WHO HAVE A CHANGE OF HEART???

[Thomistic]

I will not vote for Mitt Romney. I don’t believe he’s pro-life. He supported abortion as recently as two or three years before running for president. He’s donated money to Planned Parenthood. He’s attended their fundraisers. He may claim to have converted, but not enough time has elapsed.

He’s got a history of flip-flopping and not being forthright (which was a bad thing for John Kerry, but is supposedly suddenly okay for Romney). Plus, his Mormonism will be an issue. The fact that Mormonism allows abortion in certain instances is enough reason for me not to support any Mormon for elected office.

I don’t care how fair or unfair it may be, Mitt’s Mormonism will matter. The Democrats will use it and it’s already a problem for many Christians (myself included).

It’s got nothing to do with prejudice. It’s to do with knowledge of what Mormonism involves, not just in terms of doctrine, but also in terms of cronyism, and having lived in Utah for two years, I don’t want a Mormon president and don’t want Mormonism to become more acceptable in the mainstream – no matter how many pundits, even ones I love, like Ann Coulter, Hugh Hewitt, and Peggy Noonan tell me otherwise.

Pax,

Thomistic

[John]

If we are to scrutinize so very closely what Romney believes as a Mormon, why isn't the same thing happening with every other candidate? I doubt there are 50 souls in this country who could accurately tell what religion each candidate adheres to.
Why do we have this double standard? Why is a Mormon president such a frightful prospect? There is no way Mormon leadership would tell him how to run the country, and he wouldn't (and shouldn't) let them. The Mormon church has a long-standing policy of remaining silent on political issues and they do not endorse candidates. It only gets involved when it perceives an issue as being a moral issue, such as the defense of marriage referendum in California in '02. Look at the man, not his religion.

[Atlanta Catholic]

John,

You need a trip to Utah. Maybe you are Mormon. Double standards? Flip flops? How about a religion that banned blacks until pressure made them flip flop? First, God told them that black skin was a punishment. Then blacks were welcomed because God flip flopped and said blacks could join the Mormon faith. No wonder Mitt can change his mind so many times. God changed His mind for the Mormons to re-allow blacks in their religion. What else do you need to know? Mormonism is a cult. Cults exact loyalty. Look at Tom Cruise with Scientology. Cults work in secrecy. How can you be sure of what will be expected from his cult? How can you trust the judgement needed for the Presidency to someone who believes in goofiness beyond belief? Please don't say that it does not affect him.