Adviser Tells Conservative Magazine Massachusetts Gov. Romney Has Been 'Faking' Support for Abortion Rights

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 07 Jun 2005 - 0:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

Michael Murphy, a political adviser to Massachusetts Gov Mitt Romney (R), in the June 3 issue of the conservative magazine... National Review is quoted as saying that Romney has been "faking" his support for abortion rights and that the governor is really a "pro-life Mormon," the Boston Globe reports. However, after a prepublication copy of the National Review article was released to political strategists and the press, Murphy on Thursday issued a "statement of regret," according to the Globe. "The quote in the National Review article was not what I meant to communicate," Murphy said, adding, "I was discussing a characterization the governor's critics use. I regret the quote and any confusion it might have caused" (Lewis, Boston Globe, 6/3). When he ran for governor in 2002, Romney promised not to seek changes in the state's abortion laws, Romney spokesperson Julie Teer said, adding the governor has "kept that promise" (LeBlanc, AP/ABC News, 6/3). Romney in an unsuccessful 1994 campaign for the U.S. Senate against Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) said that he would keep abortion "safe and legal in this country," according to the Globe. However, Romney recently has called himself "personally pro-life" when speaking to audiences outside Massachusetts, according to the Globe. A spokesperson for Romney said that he has "evolved over time" on the abortion issues, according to the Globe.

Reaction, Presidential Aspirations
However, Jane Lane, a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Democratic Party, said Murphy likely was "telling the truth about Romney," the Globe reports. Lane added, "It's disturbing when your closest political adviser admits you've been lying your entire political career." Jennifer Stockman -- co-chair of the Republican Majority for Choice, which endorsed Romney in 2002 -- said, "[W]e believed he was a man of his word and a man of consistency, and he needed our word," adding, "He's now basically retracting that to pander to the religious right, so it's a game to him, clearly." There has been "media buzz" about Romney possibly running for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, according to the Globe. Jack Fowler, National Review's associate publisher, said Murphy's remark may have been an effort to distinguish Romney from other Northeastern Republicans who have tended to be fiscally conservative but socially liberal, according to the Globe. "I think this is some attempt to tell the folks in Louisiana and Arizona, 'Don't pigeonhole this guy with what you think of the rest of Northeast Republicans,'" Fowler said (Boston Globe, 6/3).

"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/repro The Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

• Additional
• References
• Citations