Skip to comments.
The abortion Mitt doesn't talk about anymore
Salon ^
| August 8, 2011
| Justin Elliot
Posted on 08/10/2011 5:37:31 PM PDT by LonelyCon
His young relative died tragically in an illegal abortion in 1963: Her untold story -- and what it means for Romney
In a 1994 Senate debate with Ted Kennedy, Mitt Romney revealed a startling chapter from his past: A close relative had died many years earlier in a botched illegal abortion, shaping Romney's stance in favor of safe and legal access to abortion for all women. But in the many years since that revelation, even as Romney flipped his position and became an ardent opponent of legal abortion, the details of his young relative's story, including even her name, have never been reported.
The relative he was referring to back in '94, Salon has learned, was a Detroit woman named Ann Keenan. She was the sister of Romney's brother-in-law and died at the age of 21 in 1963, a full decade before Roe v. Wade. While much of what happened remains murky, an investigation by Salon has uncovered never-reported details about her life and death, including: how she died (an infection); that her grief-stricken parents asked for memorial donations to be made to Planned Parenthood; and that the family apparently wanted to keep the death quiet because Romney's politically ambitious father, George, was then governor of Michigan.
...The episode is a window into an era when obtaining an abortion meant the real risk of serious injury or death. It also represents a key part of Romney's political journey on the issue of abortion, which has more than any other tarred him as a flip-flopper.
...The candidate himself said, "I hadn't thought much about" abortion until the relative's death, but that it "obviously makes one see that regardless of one's beliefs about choice, that you would hope it would be safe and legal."
(Excerpt) Read more at salon.com ...
TOPICS: Culture/Society; Politics/Elections; US: Massachusetts
KEYWORDS: abortion; mittromney; moralabsolutes; prolife; romney
Sounds like this isn't necessarily new information, but it was new to me. Sorry if I wasn't paying close attention to Massachusetts state politics in 1994 :)
1
posted on
08/10/2011 5:37:34 PM PDT
by
LonelyCon
To: LonelyCon
Romney is a mandate loving, abortionist, statist POS!
2
posted on
08/10/2011 5:42:53 PM PDT
by
Jim Robinson
(Rebellion is brewing!! Impeach the corrupt Marxist bastard!!)
To: Jim Robinson
3
posted on
08/10/2011 5:47:33 PM PDT
by
Sybeck1
(BE BOLD SARAH)
To: Jim Robinson; xzins; wmfights
Romney is a mandate loving, abortionist, statist POS!Don't sugar coat it. Tell it like it is.
4
posted on
08/10/2011 5:56:35 PM PDT
by
P-Marlowe
(LPFOKETT GAHCOEEP-w/o*)
To: LonelyCon
an investigation by Salon has uncovered never-reported details about her life and death, including: how she died (an infection); that her grief-stricken parents asked for memorial donations to be made to Planned Parenthood; and that the family apparently wanted to keep the death quiet because Romney's politically ambitious father, George, was then governor of Michigan. Interesting how they have interest in this, and the status of Joe the plumber Wurzelbacher's trade license, and the DNA of Palin's Down Syndrome child.
And avoid completely the ghostly past of Baraq Obama.
To: Sybeck1
Can’t help it. Whenever I see his face I see the face of pure evil.
Here he is preaching the joys of abortion, even for under age girls without parental consent if she gets a judge’s approval. And, he crows, that approval has never been refused.
http://youtu.be/P_w9pquznG4
6
posted on
08/10/2011 6:04:49 PM PDT
by
Jim Robinson
(Rebellion is brewing!! Impeach the corrupt Marxist bastard!!)
To: LonelyCon
....5,000 women died per year from illegal abortions in the United States... My grandmother's SIL pull a similar stunt (attempting to self induce an abortion through incredible means) in the late 1940's and died of similar complications to Ms. Keenan's.
However, the statistic above got me to thinking. (Be Careful when I start thinking.) If abortion had never been made legal, and this statistic had held static since 1973, about 190,000 women would have died in the past 38 years due to botched abortions (whether self-induced or performed by quacks and hacks).
Compared to the approximately 50,000 American babies killed since Roe v. Wade. Every human life is precious but I can't see how saving the lives of women who want to murder their own babies in the name of convenience justifies these babies deaths. Not worth the trade off, IMO.
7
posted on
08/10/2011 6:05:09 PM PDT
by
Tamar1973
("Never care what the other guy has, it is not yours and someone always has more."--isthisnickcool)
To: Tamar1973
...50 million... (forgot to add three more zeros)
8
posted on
08/10/2011 6:06:19 PM PDT
by
Tamar1973
("Never care what the other guy has, it is not yours and someone always has more."--isthisnickcool)
To: LonelyCon
Mitt can NOT be our McCain! Period.
To: Jim Robinson
I wouldn’t believe Romney if he told me he was male. He’s the dumb pol who recently said he can’t prove climate change (aka global warming), but he believes its true.
His play for the abortionist vote and Romneycare paint this guy as a flaming RINO. Hello GOP—Tea Party Conservatives will not vote for him. You done that trick once too often.
To: LonelyCon; Jim Robinson; nascarnation; P-Marlowe; Tamar1973
Before legalization, the figure of 10,000 deaths per year due to abortion was thrown around before numerous committees in Congress and elsewhere. Where did that figure come from? Dr. Bernard Nathanson was on the board of the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (NARAL—now called the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League). Nathanson, who was responsible for the performance of some 60,000 abortions, was asked that question.
He said, “We made it up. We thought it would impress the committees.” . . .
What was the reality? In 1967 there were 160 estimated maternal deaths from illegal abortions. In 1972 the figure was only 39. This is a far cry from the thousands claimed by pro-abortion forces . . .
TRUTH FOR LIES (D. James Kennedy) pp. 8-9
11
posted on
08/10/2011 6:20:36 PM PDT
by
Faith
To: LonelyCon
“In a 1994 Senate debate with Ted Kennedy, Mitt Romney revealed a startling chapter from his past”
Romney in a senate debate with teddy the swimmer in 1994?
12
posted on
08/10/2011 6:33:38 PM PDT
by
Figment
("A communist is someone who reads Marx.An anti-communist is someone who understands Marx" R Reagan)
To: Faith
Abortion is safe for everyone except the innocent baby.
13
posted on
08/10/2011 6:35:50 PM PDT
by
Jim Robinson
(Rebellion is brewing!! Impeach the corrupt Marxist bastard!!)
To: Figment
Yes, and he ran to the LEFT of Kennedy.
14
posted on
08/10/2011 6:36:44 PM PDT
by
Jim Robinson
(Rebellion is brewing!! Impeach the corrupt Marxist bastard!!)
To: Faith
Thank you, that number is a lot more believable.
15
posted on
08/10/2011 6:50:38 PM PDT
by
brytlea
(Wake me when it's over...)
To: Jim Robinson; P-Marlowe; wagglebee; narses; Salvation; wmfights
55 million babies murdered by Roe v Wade liberals like Romney. However, just to set the facts straight, far more have WOMEN have died of botched abortions since Roe v Wade than ever died of same prior to RvW:
For starters:
Search: Botched abortions at 17 weeks
16
posted on
08/10/2011 7:01:03 PM PDT
by
xzins
(Retired Army Chaplain and Proud of It! True Supporters of our Troops PRAY for their VICTORY!)
To: Jim Robinson
Thanks. Not that I needed another reason to not support the guy.
17
posted on
08/10/2011 7:24:14 PM PDT
by
Figment
("A communist is someone who reads Marx.An anti-communist is someone who understands Marx" R Reagan)
To: Faith
Fascinating. Compare less than 200 per year in illegal abortion deaths to 50,000,000 lives ended since Roe vs. Wade. It's not even comparable.
Bernard Nathanson is a Heinrich Himmler of abortion.
To: LonelyCon
“...The candidate himself said.... it “obviously makes one see that regardless of one’s beliefs about choice, that you would hope it would be safe and legal.””
Why in the world would a story about a murderess dying as a direct result of her own crime make me want to legalize murder and make it safe for the murderers?
A person who could make a statement like that, I would not trust them to be my babysitter, much less my president.
To: dools0007world
“Hello GOPTea Party Conservatives will not vote for him.”
Exactly. I hear a lot of people saying that Mittens is the only Republican candidate that can beat Obama in the general. On the contrary, nominating Mitt would guarantee a second term for Obama, since Republican turn would probably be worse than 2008.
To: LonelyCon
21
posted on
08/11/2011 1:28:26 AM PDT
by
BlackElk
(Dean of Discipline, Tomas de Torquemada Gentlemen's Club: Burn 'em Bright!!!)
To: Faith
It’s like the “battered wives on Superbowl Sunday” lie. The refutation gets buried and most continue to believe.
22
posted on
08/11/2011 1:40:28 AM PDT
by
Rastus
To: Boogieman
Actually, if Mittens was elected he’d just be Onada Lite.
It’s not clear to me that Romney has a mind of his own. He’s made some really stupid statements in the past three months when speaking in front of crowds. That is to say, before his handlers had a chance to vet what he says.
I believe Romney is a pretty RINO (nee demrat) face Marxists have latched on to to further their agenda. His Marxist handlers came up with Romneycare—along with his other Marxist positions like pro abortion, big government etc.
As we post Onada’s propaganda organs are playing on the theme that Onada is trying to “kill” Romney early because he thinks he will be his most dangerous opponent. That’s crap. What they’re trying to do is convince enough GOP voters to support him as their candidate. The beauty of it all is that even if Onada loses the Marxists still win.
Onada’s most dangerous opponent will be Palin or Bachmann. I don’t see the Perry blitz being anything more than a flash in the pan. According to Texans, Perry is now talking “conservative” but he’s actual policies tend to the left. Based on that, I believe Perry changed parties as part of the Demrat’s successful effort to co-opt the GOP. It is no longer an opposition party to the Demrats. It is an arm of the demrat party.
Unless something really surprising happens I do not see the demrats handing the GOP back to conservatives. Palin or Bachmann will have to run on Conservative or Independent ballot lines.
To: xzins; Jim Robinson; P-Marlowe; wagglebee; narses; Salvation; wmfights
...far more have WOMEN have died of botched abortions since Roe v Wade than ever died of same prior to RvW: Great facts!
FWIW, I recall reading that women who have had an abortion have a higher incidence of breast cancer.
24
posted on
08/11/2011 9:03:56 AM PDT
by
wmfights
(If you want change support SenateConservatives.com)
To: LonelyCon
The candidate himself said, "I hadn't thought much about" abortion until the relative's death, but that it "obviously makes one see that regardless of one's beliefs about choice, that you would hope it would be safe and legal." He should have come out for better treatment of infection, which we do have these days.
25
posted on
08/11/2011 9:25:47 AM PDT
by
Moonman62
(The US has become a government with a country, rather than a country with a government.)
To: Boogieman
nominating Mitt would guarantee a second term for Obama
That's why the media is working so hard -- day and night -- to convince us that Mitt's Our Man.
I will not vote for Mitt Romney. Ever. For anything.
To: wmfights; xzins; Jim Robinson; P-Marlowe; narses; Salvation
There is a definite and indisputable link between abortion and breast cancer, so the media simply ignores it.
To make matters worse, the Komen Foundation regularly donates large sums of money to Planned Parenthood. Komen CLAIMS that this money is to provide mammogram; however, the FACT is that no Planned Parenthood clinic has ever performed a single mammogram and they don't have the machines to do it.
27
posted on
08/11/2011 10:49:52 AM PDT
by
wagglebee
("A political party cannot be all things to all people." -- Ronald Reagan, 3/1/75)
To: LonelyCon; 185JHP; 230FMJ; AKA Elena; Albion Wilde; Aleighanne; Alexander Rubin; ...
28
posted on
08/11/2011 10:51:33 AM PDT
by
wagglebee
("A political party cannot be all things to all people." -- Ronald Reagan, 3/1/75)
To: newzjunkey
Bernard Nathanson stopped doing abortions in 1979 & became an enormous pro-life activist. In 1996, he became a Catholic. He never forgave himself for uncaging the abortion monster in the U.S.
I pray that God has mercy on his soul. This man was truly sorry for what he had done. It’s my hope all abortionists experience the same conversion.
29
posted on
08/11/2011 11:18:25 AM PDT
by
surroundedbyblue
(Live the message of Fatima - pray & do penance!)
To: newzjunkey; Faith; wmfights; xzins; P-Marlowe; narses; Salvation; surroundedbyblue
Bernard Nathanson is a Heinrich Himmler of abortion. I would be more inclined to say that Bernard Nathanson was the Saul of Tarsus of abortion.
30
posted on
08/11/2011 11:35:47 AM PDT
by
wagglebee
("A political party cannot be all things to all people." -- Ronald Reagan, 3/1/75)
To: LonelyCon
Ahhh, him has a sad tale. Romney is just another piece of crap floating down the gutter of life and attracting the big, green, fat, flies, that always light on crap. If tomorrow morning a poll said that he could get additional votes by killing an infant on nationwide television he'd be buying air time and looking for an infant to murder. It's always the same line of trash from his sort. A yarn about the one person in five hundred thousand who died due to a botched illegal abortion as if that excuses murdering ten times as many infants as Hitler murdered in his death camps.
Screw Romney, the horse he rode in on, his saddle maker, his boot maker, the stable hand that feeds his horse, and the syphilitic saloon girl he visits when no one is around to catch him at it.
31
posted on
08/11/2011 12:41:49 PM PDT
by
Rashputin
(Obama is insane but kept medicated and on golf courses to hide it)
The New Monthly Donor Count
Eleven Rounds of 10 NMDs Are Complete!
Round 12 has 6!
Woo Hoo! 116 New Monthly Donors so far this FReepathon!

32
posted on
08/11/2011 12:49:00 PM PDT
by
TheOldLady
(FReepmail me to get ON or OFF the ZOT LIGHTNING ping list.)
To: LonelyCon
Following the liberalization of abortion laws in several states in the early 1970s and the Roe decision in 1973, the death rate dropped drastically.Another typical liberal lie! It was the use of antibiotics, BEFORE Roe vs. Wade, that caused the drop in death rate.
33
posted on
08/11/2011 2:41:53 PM PDT
by
Former Fetus
(Saved by grace through faith)
To: samtheman
Exactly.
I COULD NOT vote for mcStain,
and I WILL NEVER vote for Mittens!
34
posted on
08/11/2011 3:48:27 PM PDT
by
snuffy smiff
(Socialism is the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy.)
To: Jim Robinson
The ultimate flip-flopper.
Worse than Kerry even.
Can we have a swift vet group for Romney?
35
posted on
08/11/2011 4:13:02 PM PDT
by
Salvation
("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
To: nascarnation
**donations to be made to Planned Parenthood;^^
Is this the REAL Romney?
36
posted on
08/11/2011 4:15:10 PM PDT
by
Salvation
("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
To: LonelyCon
romney care and pro-abortion, I think he is finished..btw, what is his real first name?
37
posted on
08/23/2011 6:44:47 PM PDT
by
Coleus
Disclaimer:
Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson