McCain Campaign Criticizes Romney's Abortion-Rights Position Shift

McCain Campaign Criticizes Romney's Abortion-Rights Position Shift

The campaign of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who is running for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, on Wednesday released a 2005 video in which former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R), who also is running for the nomination, affirms his support for maintaining Massachusetts' abortion-rights laws, the Washington Post reports (Goldfarb, Washington Post, 6/14).

Since Romney first ran for U.S. Senate in 1994, he has acknowledged that his position on abortion has changed from supporting abortion rights to saying that he would prefer to have Roe v. Wade -- the 1973 Supreme Court case that effectively barred state abortion bans -- overturned. Romney in 1994 said, "I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country," adding, "I believe that since Roe v. Wade has been the law for 20 years, we should sustain and support it." When he ran for Massachusetts governor in 2002, Romney promised to "preserve the status quo" on abortion rights in the state and oppose any changes to state laws that restricted or increased access to abortion.

Romney in 2004 while studying human embryonic stem cell research said he experienced an awakening that led him to believe "the sanctity of life had been cheapened" by the Roe decision (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 4/27). Romney in the video -- taken at a May 27, 2005, press conference -- said, "I am absolutely committed to my promise to maintain the status quo with regards to laws relating to abortion and choice." He added that his "personal, philosophical views" about the issue would not have done "anything other than distract" from what he thought was a "more critical agenda" (Washington Post, 6/14).

Matt David, a spokesperson for the McCain campaign, said that Romney's "biggest challenge" in the election will be "convincing Republicans he has principled positions on important issues, especially now that it's known that he remained committed to pro-choice policies" after he shifted his position on abortion rights in 2004 (Sidoti, AP/Houston Chronicle, 6/13). Romney spokesperson Kevin Madden said the McCain campaign used a selective quote from the video and ignored Romney's other comments "where he also made a passionate case for his veto of stem cell legislation that showed a level of disregard for the sanctity of human life" (Whitesides, Reuters, 6/13).

Group Calls for IRS Investigation of Bishop's Comments About Giuliani
In related news, Americans United for Separation of Church and State on Wednesday said that Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin -- head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, R.I. -- violated tax law when he criticized Republican presidential candidate and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani's support for abortion rights, the Providence Journal reports. The group is asking the Internal Revenue Service to investigate the diocese reports (Providence Journal, 6/14).

Tobin in a column for the diocese's newspaper, the Rhode Island Catholic, said Giuliani's "public proclamations on abortion are pathetic and confusing," adding, "Even worse, they're hypocritical." Tobin also said that he never would support a candidate who supports abortion rights. According to Tobin, Catholics are "required to be pro-life, to cherish and protect human life as a precious gift of God from the moment of conception until the time of natural death" (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 6/6).

Barry Lynn, executive director of AUSCS, in a letter to the IRS said Tobin "appears to have violated federal tax law by attacking Giuliani." The group in a statement said that "federal tax law forbids non-profits to use organizational resources to support or oppose candidates for public office." Lynn said that if Tobin "wants to join the political fray, he should do so as an individual without dragging along his tax-exempt diocese" (Providence Journal, 6/14). He added, "The bishop is not a political boss, and he shouldn't be telling his flock with church resources which candidate to oppose."

IRS spokesperson Eric Smith said the agency does not confirm an investigation's existence until it makes a ruling. Tobin spokesperson Michael Guilfoyle said the complaint does not have merit. According to the Associated Press, the IRS rarely revokes a group's tax-exempt status for one violation (Henry, Associated Press, 6/13).

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