Romney says Ryan won't oppose abortion in rape cases (Romney supports both rape & incest abortion)

JS Online ^ | Aug. 20, 2012 | James Rowen

[xzins]

Odious remarks by GOP Missouri Senate candidate Cong. Todd Akin about how few pregnancies result from "legitimate rape" have done more than outrage people across the country and doom Akin's bid to move up from the House.

It motivated the Romney campaign - - already trailing among women voters in recent polls - - to distance itself from Akin by assuring voters that Romney and Paul Ryan - - the "Romney-Ryan administration" - - should they win in November, would not oppose raped women's access to abortion.

"Governor Romney and Congressman (Paul) Ryan disagree with Mr. Akin's statement, and a Romney-Ryan administration would not oppose abortion in instances of rape," Romney spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg said.

You'd probably say that sounds reasonable and humane - - except it was just three days ago that PolitiFact devoted a lot of space to this issue and found that while Romney backed abortions in cases of incest and rape, Ryan did not.

And had been an abortion opponent throughout his entire political career - - backing an exception only when the life of the mother was at stake - - thus earning a perfect score from a leading anti-abortion organization on this basic tenet of conservative ideology and practice.

News coverage of Ryan’s first congressional race in 1998, as well as statements he made to the National Right to Life Committee, a leading anti-abortion group, show Ryan has taken a stricter anti-abortion view than Romney.

The only anti-abortion exception Ryan favors is situations where an abortion is needed to save the life of the mother, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. The National Right to Life Committee concurs, based on information the group says it collected in 1998 and 2000 from Ryan as a candidate.

[sickoflibs]

Since Todd Akin is mentioned in the first line I must point out that fools like him give a huge Christmas present to those who want to fund abortion with tax money. There is no doubt in my mind that Republicans will run away from the abortion issue as fast as possible after this self nuke on himself and his won side.

As to Romney, There is a misconception by many here (and on Republican TV) that Ryan was chosen to make Romney more conservative. Ryan was chosen to allow Romney to run left after the primary and to govern from the (center) left.

How can he do this?? Because we are told ‘ he is an proved conservative that no one questions his credentials’. Isn't that we keep being fed by Republicans? And Dems say he's an extremist. How can ya not trust a guy who they call that?

[Inconvenient Truthteller]

Hey Akin: Thanks a lot for snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory....

[sitetest]

Dear xzins,

“In that time, I’ve seen no place where Romney’s current abortion views are spelled out. Romney has maintained a type of silence on the subject with the exceptions of refusing to sign a pro-life pledge and also that of simple statements that he is pro-life.”

And yet, somehow, I've managed to glean that he is for overturning Roe, believes abortion should be illegal generally, and am unsurprised at the specific exceptions he endorses. I wonder how I got all that information, and got it all right!

I could spend some time googling around to try to find specifics. But I'm too lazy. I vaguely recall something about stem cell research that pointed out some internal consistencies in his publicly-announced beliefs, but again, I'm just too lazy to look it up.

I AM an abortion “extremist” or “purist” or what have. What abortions may be performed legitimately (that is, within the bounds of a truly just legal regime)?

NONE.

Nonetheless, I was never under the impression that Gov. Romney had joined me over in the “extremists” camp.

* pause *

You know, I tell myself how lazy I am, but I'm often more curious than I am lazy. So, while typing this reply, I did about five minutes’ worth of googling to try to figure out where I got the knowledge I somehow had.

Here's a little bit of what I found:

Here's something from Wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Mitt_Romney#Abortion_and_related_issues

“The Boston Globe on July 26, 2005 quoted Romney saying, ‘I am pro-life. I believe that abortion is the wrong choice except in cases of incest, rape, and to save the life of the mother. I wish the people of America agreed, and that the laws of our nation could reflect that view. But while the nation remains so divided over abortion, I believe that the states, through the democratic process, should determine their own abortion laws and not have them dictated by judicial mandate.’[186]

“At the May 2007 Republican Presidential debate in South Carolina, Romney stated that ‘Roe v. Wade has gone to such an extent that we've cheapened the value of human life.’ He followed by saying ‘the people should make [the abortion] decision, not the court.’[170] Romney's spokesperson has indicated that had Romney been the governor of South Dakota, he would have signed into law the controversial law banning abortion, but he would include exceptions for cases of incest or rape, which the South Dakota law excludes.[187]’”

It seems that his view that abortion should generally be illegal except in cases of rape, incest and the life of the mother have been out there pretty much since 2005. No wonder I knew that was his position!

Thus, I think that there are likely very few of us "purists" who actually thought that the governor was also a "purist." At least, not anyone who has REALLY been paying attention.

http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/elections/2012/gop-presidential-candidates/mitt-romney.html?gclid=CMjz_ri39rECFSkQNAodTUoAmg

This is from NARAL - so they're not going to paint Gov. Romney in a particularly good light. Here are a couple of their footnoted points:

“When asked if the repeal of Roe v. Wade would be a good day for America, former Gov. Romney responded, ‘Absolutely.’ 5

“Former Gov. Romney also said ‘absolutely’ when asked, ‘Would you have supported a constitutional amendment that would have established the definition of life at conception?’” 6

Interestingly, xzins, the ultimate logical conclusion of such an amendment would be that in order to permit even abortions for the life of the mother, states and other jurisdictional bodies would have to pass positive laws giving rationales why the lives of living human beings could be taken in such circumstances. It'd be tough, with such an amendment in place, to permit abortions in cases of rape or incest.

But I'm happy to have a mostly pro-life politician have to ultimately deal with such a quandary.

sitetest

[EnquiringMind]

Hope you live in California, NY, NJ, or one of the other deep blue states where your “non-vote” is worthless.

[xzins]

The Enquiring Mind wants to know that I am from Ohio.

[MEGoody]

He is a J E R K because he just put Clair McCaskill right back into the race where she seemed destined for defeat.

Maybe so. But so far, no one has provided an answer as to what he should have said when asked a very direct question about abortion in cases of rape. If no one has a better way of handling the question, it's rather pointless to criticize him.

[MEGoody]

Way to go Todd.

So how should he have handled that very direction question on abortion in cases of rape? So far, no one has been able to provide an alternative response, let alone one that the MSM would not have jumped on with both feet.

[Sacajaweau]

Let's be real....There have been thousands of children born "supposedly" of rape and incest and there are STILL back doors for abortions if you have enough money.

While rape and incest are abominable, how many can actually be proved as being "forced"...And if it can be proved...the dude belongs in jail. But THAT rarely to never happens.....Women will lie and dude will move on...

[RicocheT]

Rape, woman’s issues, Romney’s tax returns, etc. are all Obama diversions from what will give the GOP victory in 11/2012.

Keep your eye on the ball, lack of jobs, lack of economic growth, big government regulations holding back business expansion and spending to grow, six trillion more in federal debt, etc. The GOP platform has been and will be pro-life, so don’t fall for Obama’s tricks.

[dalebert]

well weigh that against Obama who is for all abortion even late term.

[PhxTM06]

I said this would happen last night.

EXIT:Discussion about the economy.

ENTER:Discussion about rape, pregnancy and male GOP members basic understanding of the female reproductive system.

For those keeping points at home, anytime the Republicans get off-message and away from talking about the horrendous economy, Obama gets a little closer to being re-elected. I’m hoping this whole incident didn’t short-circuit the momentum that Ryan had created for this entire campaign.

[xzins]

Hi Sitetest,

Please go to the following video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBRjSe8WvfQ&feature=player_embedded

Look at this UPI article from just this PAST September 2011.:

Asked if he would support using a 14th Amendment interpretation to ban abortion, Romney stressed his support for overturning Roe vs. Wade, which recognized a woman's right to an abortion, but said using the 14th Amendment was not a good idea.

"Could that happen in this country? Could there be circumstances? I think it's reasonable that something of that nature might happen someday, but that's not something I would precipitate," he said. "I believe that we must be a nation of laws, and I believe in supporting the Constitution as I understand it, but I'm not looking to create a constitutional crisis."

See the 14th amendment below. In other words, Romney does NOT consider an unborn child to be a person. Nor would he support a personhood law. Nor would he support justices who would use personhood in the 14th amendment to save babies.

The 14th Amendment:

Section. 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

[DaveInDallas]

well weigh that against Obama who is for all abortion even late term.

Or even post-term.

[PhxTM06]

A better way? As opposed to what, basically stating that any woman who claims she was “legitimately raped” and then ends up pregnant was actually a lying, whore?

He could have said that “personally, I support life and feel that we should punish the rapist and not the baby” and left it at that.

When that moron started talking about “women’s bodies shutting down during rape”, that went into the realm of pure idiocy.

[NKP_Vet]

“When Ryan himself actually comes out and says he thinks Abortion is OK in the case of Rape or Incest or the “health” of the mother, then we will know that Satan has won over Ryan just as he has won over Romney”

Sarah Palin believes in no abortion of any type. Maybe that non-existent life of the mother clause but nothing else. McCain took the RINO position of believing in selective murder in cases of rape, incest and “life of the mother”.

You can bet your bottom dollar that Ryan will be asked has he changed his position on abortion. How he taps dances around the question will show me how faithful he is to the teachings of the Catholic Church. I would suspect he’ll say that the official position is Romney’s RINO stance, but his personal position is he is against all abortion. That’s the only way Romney would have ever picked him for VP.

[mlizzy]

In my view there is an easy, universal barometer we can use to evaluate all cultures: how do they treat their most vulnerable members...those whom Jesus so aptly referred to as 'the least of these'? I would go so far as to say that a society that does not...defend the defenseless, [protect] all human life, is really not a civilized society after all. As for all my pro-choice friends out there, we can agree to disagree...and keep on arguing (until I win). — Bobby Jindal, from Leadership and Crisis
-------
SANTORUM: Well, you can make the argument that if she doesn’t have this baby, if she kills her child, that that, too, could ruin her life...As horrible as the way that that son or daughter was created, it still is her child. And whether she has that child or doesn’t, it will always be her child. And she will always know that. And so to embrace her and to love her and to support her and get her through this very difficult time, I’ve always, you know, I believe and I think the right approach is to accept...what God has given to you.
-------
MR. RUSSERT: But you said you would ban all abortions.

GOV. HUCKABEE: Well, that's not just because I'm a Christian, that's because I'm an American. Our founding fathers said that we're all created equal. I think every person has intrinsic worth and value...

MR. RUSSERT: But many Americans believe that that would be, that would be you imposing your faith belief...

GOV. HUCKABEE: But, no. It's not a faith belief. It's deeper than that. It's a human belief. It goes to the heart of who we are as a civilization. If I believe that your intrinsic worth is not changed by your ancestry, your last name, by your IQ, by your abilities or disabilities, if I value your life and respect it with dignity and worth because it is human, then that's what draws me to the inescapable conclusion that I should be for the sanctity of every and each human life...

Get out, Paul Ryan,
while you still can.please .. just leave ...

[MEGoody]

He could have said that “personally, I support life and feel that we should punish the rapist and not the baby” and left it at that.

And you don't think the MSM would have jumped on that with both feet? They would have been whining and carrying on about how rape is bad enough without Akin forcing a woman to carry a child resulting from that rape.

When that moron started talking about “women’s bodies shutting down during rape”, that went into the realm of pure idiocy.

Conception is rare in cases of severe stress. Why do you think doctors advise a woman who is trying to get pregnant to relax when there is no underlying medical reason for the failure to conceive? (Or perhaps you think all those doctors are guilty of malpractice for advising their clients out of pure idiocy.)

[PhxTM06]

The point that you’re missing is that IT happens, tens of thousands of times per year according to the CDC. Studies have previously shown that women have about a 5% chance of ending up pregnant after being raped. Considering how many women are raped in a year, that’s a heck of a lot of pregnancies that Akin basically stated don’t exist or the women lied about.

Another idiot for the media to paint as the stereotypical old white Republican guy that is clueless about a lady’s “magic parts.”

[dalebert]

I am questioning his credentials ...I am also weighing them against Obama’s.

[Domandred]

Obama wants abortions as contraception at will for everyone paid for with tax dollars.