- Mike Allen: You’ve made it clear in talking to conservatives that your conversion on the abortion issue was quite sincere. In office, what policies would you initiate to show that sincerity?
- Governor Mitt Romney: “As governor of Massachusetts, for example, I had four pieces of legislation that came to my desk that related to the preservation of life. In each case, I came down on the side of respect for life. One was with regard to abstinence education in schools. One of the initiatives that my wife and I will lead is an effort help kids get through high school and get married before they have babies. There is an epidemic of out-of-wedlock births. Fortunately, it was cooled off by virtue of welfare reform, but there’s a lot more cooling off to do. And I will make a concerted effort to help kids wait to have babies until after they’re married.”
- Governor Mitt Romney: “First of all, by telling kids what the consequences are of good decisions versus bad decisions. We are one of the most effective marketing and advertising nations in the world. People look at us and marvel at our communications capabilities. We need to use those same skills to help kids understand that if they have babies in high school, the prospects of them being able to go to college are not very good. The likelihood their child is going to get raised in poverty if they’re not married is multiple times greater than if they get married beforehand. So part is through education. There are other things we have to do to encourage marriage before babies. One is to look at our social programs and the fact that our social safety net penalizes marriage.”
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0407/3691.html
- George Stephanopoulos
- So do you now believe that abortion is murder?
- Should women who have abortions and doctors who perform them be jailed?
- If it's killing, why should states have leeway?
- What do you believe the punishment should be for an abortion?
- Wolf Blitzer
- Have you changed your opinion on Abortion?
- What is your current position on abortion?
- How do you account for your change on abortion?
- 1st Debate
- Would it be a good day for America if Roe v Wade was repealed?
- Have you always been for life or effectively pro-choice?
- When you said that being a pro-life president entails more than just appointing strict constructionist judges, was that directed at Giuliani?
- 2nd Debate
- What would you say to someone who lost a wife or a daughter to an illegal abortion if you named the Supreme Court justice who tipped the balance and over turned Roe v Wade?
- Governor Romney, during this campaign, you have been criticized -- and again tonight you've been criticized -- for changing your position on some issues. You say that it's a part of learning from experience. Can you point to an area in which your learning from experience led you to change to a position that is less popular with the Republican base?
- Katherine Jean Lopez
- Were you faking it when you said you were pro-choice?
- Dan Balz, David S Broder and Ruth Marcus
- Do you support making abortion illegal?
- Mary Katharine Ham
- What do you think about the partial-birth abortion ban?
- Mike Allen
- What policies would you initiate to show your sincerity?