What We Know: Mitt Romney

The What We know series attempts to explain each of the 2012 Presidential candidates' views on abortion. Earlier, we did President Obama. Next is Mitt Romney, considered by many to be the front runner for the Republican nomination.

The Simple Answer: A quote from Romney, found here: "I am prolife. I believe that abortion is the wrong choice except in cases of incest, rape, and to save the life of the mother"

Behind the Answer: Three articles on Romney's stance and record on abortion can be found here, here, and (wikipedia warning) here. Romney, at one point, was in favor of abortion and said he was pro-choice. However, in 2004, Romney claimed that he had become pro-life. Despite his proclaimed conversion, in 2006, Romney, then governor of Massachusetts, signed a health care bill that included taxpayer funding for abortion. Romney later claimed that, despite evidence to the contrary (noted in the first linked article in this section) the bill he signed did not fund abortion, and even if it did, it wasn't his fault. Romney now claims to be firmly pro-life and ready to de-legalize abortion, but his past record takes some of the legitimacy out of his claim.