Perhaps the anti-choice Governor thinks emergency contraception is the withdrawal of the penis before ejaculation. I'd like to see that piece of legislation.
Flip-flopper Romney attempts to explain his position in an Op-ed here, in which he also takes issue with Roe, saying it should be left to the states to decide. In other words, he has presidential ambitions.
The Boston Globe: {snippets}
"Three years after expressing support for ''the substance" of Roe v. Wade, Governor Mitt Romney today criticizes the landmark ruling that legalized abortion and says the states should decide separately whether to allow it.
''I promised the people of Massachusetts that as governor I would not change the laws of the Commonwealth as they relate to abortion," Romney wrote in a veto letter to lawmakers. ''If taken soon enough, the so-called 'morning after' pill performs as a contraceptive. But in some cases, it can also act to prevent the implantation of the embryo. To those who believe that life begins at conception, the morning-after pill can destroy the human life that was created at the moment of fertilization."
As Romney touted his fulfillment of a campaign promise, supporters of the bill criticized him for breaking one.
They pointed out that on a questionnaire that abortion rights groups gave to the gubernatorial candidates in 2002, Romney answered yes to the question, ''Will you support efforts to increase access to emergency contraception?" As the governor explained his decision to reporters inside his State House office, protesters in the hallway chanted: ''Mitt Romney, we want the pill. Keep your word, sign the bill!"
''Not only did he let down women and families in our state, but he has not kept his word," said Melissa Kogut, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts. ''I think he's more concerned about the opinions of Iowa caucus goers than the opinion of women in our state."
Asked how yesterday's veto squares with his answer on the 2002 questionnaire, Romney argued that he supports emergency contraception, but not the sort envisioned in the bill.
''I do support expansion of emergency contraception; I have no problem with emergency contraception," he told reporters in his office. ''This product not only does that, but in some cases terminates life after conception. In that case, it ceases to be an emergency contraception bill and becomes an emergency abortion bill."
He did not elaborate. Supporters of the bill said they were perplexed by his logic, since the term ''emergency contraception" refers to Plan B or similar pills."
Tags: reproductive rights
