Mitt Romney’s Pro-Life Conversion

Like Ronald Reagan and both Presidents Bush, Mitt Romney has gone through an education and conversion process on pro-life issues. It’s hard to watch video of Romney from the early 2000s stating that he is pro-choice. How does that square with where he is today when he says he is pro-life?

Interestingly, Romney’s conversion started with learning about life at the beginning of the life spectrum, at the embryonic stage. As Governor of Massachusetts, Romney began researching the issue of embryonic stem cell research. He was being lobbied strongly to change a state law that protected human embryos, with some of the pressure coming from his alma mater, Harvard University. Romney met with Dr. William Hurlbut, a physician and professor at Stanford University Medical Center Neuroscience Institute. Hurlbut went through the basics of human development at the earliest stages and described what happens to the living human embryo which is killed to obtain embryonic stem cells. It was this discussion that convinced Romney he was pro-life.

Should we believe him? I thought long and hard about this, and became convinced of the sincerity of this conversion. Few right-to-lifers are opposed to Romney because they don’t believe he was converted. After all, isn’t that what true right-to-life education is all about — to change hearts and minds?

Here is what Romney for President says on his website about his abortion position:

“Mitt Romney is pro-life. He believes it speaks well of the country that almost all Americans recognize that abortion is a problem. And in the quiet of conscience, people of both political parties know that more than a million abortions a year cannot be squared with the good heart of America.

“Mitt believes that life begins at conception and wishes that the laws of our nation reflected that view. But while the nation remains so divided, he believes that the right next step is for the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade – a case of blatant judicial activism that took a decision that should be left to the people and placed it in the hands of unelected judges. With Roe overturned, states will be empowered through the democratic process to determine their own abortion laws and not have them dictated by judicial mandate.

“Mitt supports the Hyde Amendment, which broadly bars the use of federal funds for abortions. As president, he will end federal funding for abortion advocates like Planned Parenthood. He will protect the right of health care workers to follow their conscience in their work. And he will nominate judges who know the difference between personal opinion and the law.

“Because the good heart of America knows no boundaries, a commitment to protecting life should not stop at the water’s edge. Taking innocent life is always wrong and always tragic, wherever it happens. The compassionate instincts of this country should not be silent in the face of injustices like China’s One-Child policy. No one will ever hear a President Romney or his vice president tell the Chinese government that “I fully understand” and won’t “second guess” compulsory sterilization and forced abortion.

“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.”

So strong, and so vastly different from President Obama, the most pro-abortion president ever.

Barbara Lyons