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Special Report
Mitt’s Greatest Hits
A Massachusetts pro-life group reminds us of Romney’s troubles on health care and abortion.
In 2008, the issue that most dogged Mitt Romney’s Republican presidential campaign was abortion. This time around, it has been health care. Now the GOP frontrunner may have to face both headaches at once.
This week, the Bay State’s biggest pro-life group launched a ballot initiative to repeal the Obamacare-like health care law Romney signed in 2006. Massachusetts Citizens for Life President Anne Fox says, “It’s going to lead to the rationing of care, and that’s what makes it a pro-life issue.”
So Fox’s organization has proposed a referendum question that will allow Massachusetts voters to repeal the individual mandate that is at the heart of the state law and its similarities to Obamacare. Massachusetts Citizens for Life will need to gather 68,911 signatures by November and then another 11,485 signatures by June for the initiative to make the ballot.
But in the meantime, the campaign calls attention to Romney’s two biggest liabilities with the Republican base. And nothing better illustrates Romney’s gymnastics on the abortion issue than his complicated relationship with Massachusetts Citizens for Life.
It goes all the way back to Romney’s first run for public office. In 1994, Citizens for Life endorsed Romney for Senate. His Republican primary opponent, John Lakian, was running to his left on abortion. So was the Democratic incumbent, Ted Kennedy. Romney was pro-choice, but supported parental notification laws, opposed the Freedom of Choice Act, was against taxpayer funding of abortion, and said he would not vote for a federal health care bill that covered abortions.
After getting the Citizens for Life endorsement, Romney subsequently modified or reversed all of these positions. The group’s backing was helpful among a subset of Republican voters, but it attracted the kind of attention Romney didn’t want in his campaign against Kennedy. “Mitt Romney, stop pretending,” demanded NARAL’s Kate Michelman. “We need honesty in our public life, not your campaign of deception to conceal your anti-choice views.”
Romney said he might be able to back a different version of the Freedom of Choice Act. His adviser Charles Manning told the Boston Herald Romney “supports a federal health care option that includes abortion services, would vote for a law codifying the 1972 [sic] Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion and backs federal funding for abortions as long as states can decide they want the money.”
Most bizarrely, Manning even told a newspaper that Massachusetts Citizens for Life had endorsed Romney because he had been pro-choice longer than Ted Kennedy.
“[Kennedy] was pro-life before Roe v. Wade and now he’s changed,” Manning said to the Boston Globe. “Mitt has always been consistent in his pro-choice position and that’s why the group respects him.”
Right.
After losing to Kennedy, Romney flirted with running for office in Utah — and also seemed to flirt with becoming pro-life. In 2001, he wrote a letter to the Salt Lake Tribune saying he didn’t wish to be called pro-choice. He called abortion “the wrong choice,” but conceded “under the law, it is a choice people have.” Romney never ended up becoming a candidate in Utah.
Instead Bay State Republicans convinced him to run for governor in Massachusetts. His Democratic opponent, Shannon O’Brien, zinged him on abortion. “Ted Kennedy said it best,” she remarked in an October 2002 debate. “Mitt Romney isn’t pro-choice, he’s not anti-choice, he’s multiple choice.”
Romney protested, “Let me make this very clear: I will preserve and protect a woman’s right to choose.” So O’Brien brought up his 1994 endorsement by Massachusetts Citizens for Life. Romney denied ever accepting the endorsement, sarcastically asking O’Brien if he wrote them an acceptance letter. “When you say I accepted it, in what way did I accept it, Shannon?” he asked. Massachusetts Citizens for Who?
Three years later, Romney wrote in the Boston Globe, “I am prolife. I believe that abortion is the wrong choice except in cases of incest, rape, and to save the life of the mother.” This may as well have been the announcement of his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. Before leaving office as governor, he became a Massachusetts Citizens for Life donor.
Fox is interested in repealing the Massachusetts health care law, not revisiting any of this history or bashing Romney. She defends him against the charge that he is responsible for taxpayer funding of abortion in the commonwealth, pointing out that it was actually the Supreme Judicial Court that mandated such funding when it struck down the Doyle-Flynn law, which was Massachusetts’ equivalent of the Hyde Amendment. She is even willing to say it was reasonable to think Romneycare might have worked out better, given the state’s low percentage of uninsured before the law took hold.
About the Author
W. James Antle, III, author of the new book Devouring Freedom: Can Big Government Ever Be Stopped?, is editor of the Daily Caller News Foundation and a senior editor of The American Spectator. You can follow him on Twitter @jimantle.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (114) | Leave a comment
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Intelligent Design| 8.5.11 @ 7:04AM
The author of Romney-ObamaCare would make a good running mate, for Obama.
massmile | 8.5.11 @ 9:07AM
He repudiated his former pro abortion position in 2008; then, baby bad, must be burned with acid, cut to pieces, and suck up. Today, baby good.I am a 28 years old doctor, mature and beautiful.and now I am seeking a good man who can give me real love , so i got a username sammyshine2002 on--a'ge'l'ov'e'r.c óm--.it is the first and best club for y'ounger women and old'er men, or older women and y'ounger men,to int'eract with each other. Maybe you wanna ch'eck 'it out or tell your friends!
mames| 8.5.11 @ 11:13AM
Mitt is a classic liar and not to ever be trusted. And what kind of name is Mitt anyway, what is it with these phonies, Mitt, Newt, Huckaphony? I guess they have come to believe their own lies, wait, isn't that a pathological issue?
Shamus| 8.5.11 @ 12:12PM
His real name is Willard.
coltakashi| 8.5.11 @ 2:05PM
And what kind of name is Barack? If your first given name was Willard, you would go by Mitt (named after a friend of his Dad).
If Romney were a real waffler, he would have distanced himself from the Mormon Church, but he has stuck with it despite the fact that it makes a lot of people in the South hostile to him. His position on abortion is precisely the position that LDS Church teaches to its members, that abortion should be limited to rape, incest , and other severe trauma or danger to the physical ir mental health of the mother, and even then, should be done only with sincere pondering and prayer asking God if it should be done. Because this position allows a small number of abortions, it has been deniunced by extremists as "pro-choice". Be cause it opposes the vast majority of abortions, it had been denounced by extremists on the left as anti-abortion. Mitt is in the middle, where most Americans are, but where the courts have prevented state legislatures from going by declaring abortion to be a stronger constitutional right than free speech, which has all sorts of restrictions (defamation, child porn, campaign finance, time and place, etc.) or the right to bear arms. He gets flak from both sides because he is with the vast middle on the issue.
Dai Alanye | 8.5.11 @ 3:02PM
While I would vote for Willard over Barack, the fact is that poor Mitt falls between two stools. He's not lefty enough for the Dems, and merely pretends to be conservative for the Repubs. Back in the Nixon years he'd have made a fine VP choice, but those days are long gone.
No Mitt, no mini-Mitt like Jon Huntsman. We need a true conservative like Rick Santorum.
canuckistani| 8.5.11 @ 3:43PM
Santorum....I think my coffee just went through my nose....
He now claims the public schools are "indocrinating" our children. What the sam hill does he think ALL schools do? He is living in a solution-free zone once again. If current rhetorical approaches to the socialization of youth applied well to the general public, then Palin's abstinence programs would have worked in Alaska, and the very least inside her own home.
Teen drug/alc/sex is as prevalent in red states as blue, and the flat earthers at the Texas school board have already begun the slow decent of American student performance from 23rd in the world to who knows where.
He is dangerous to the party and DOA at the ballot box.
Willard will win the nom and then lose the general as he runs away and then toward any given issue. His AWOL act during the ceiling chaos was revealing.
With Santorum fixated on culture wars, you need your head examined as it defies reason in this environment. The rest of the developed world has moved on and are having better qualities of life for it.
ManassasGrandma| 8.9.11 @ 11:43AM
Like England at the moment? Western Civ is coming apart at the seams because we no longer value human life. This stuff all started with abortion.
Kelly Staples| 8.5.11 @ 7:30AM
Mitt - the authentic phony.
Stink Blossom| 8.6.11 @ 12:16AM
Yep, he said what he had to say in a liberal eastern state to be electable. Kind of like O'bama pretended to be a centrist. Pick your battles, win them.
Hod Bacon| 8.5.11 @ 7:36AM
Can Mitt beat Obama? I'm not sure.
loulou| 8.5.11 @ 9:45AM
Of course Mitt can't beat Obama.
Conservatives will not vote for him.
LarryK| 8.5.11 @ 3:09PM
Give that man a Kewpie doll!
canuckistani| 8.5.11 @ 3:50PM
Dole 2.0?
Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 8.5.11 @ 7:50AM
If anyone needs to see the effects of elitism which manifests itself in government central planning all one need do is look at Massachusetts.
The state is struggling to handle all the freeloaders in the health care system, while watching jobs move away.
A perfect example of that is Boston Scientific. They are closing down jobs in Massachusetts while investing 150 million in China to employ thousands there in the ultimate slap in the face to irony.
China appears savvy enough to know to leave the business community alone for the most part, even though China at one time was the king of central planning.
As Obamacare nears implementation many more millions of jobs will disappear, driven overseas by the elitist policies which will do nothing to control health care costs or even availability.
It doesn't appear that Mill Romney has learned his lesson either, claiming there is such a thing as climate change, implying that if he is elected he can create another huge bureaucracy to handle that. Such is the fantasy world of the elite.
Although Mitt Romney will most likely beat Obama, that won't help the public much. You're just changing one type of elitist for another, and elitism has failed.
By the way, notice the comment of the state legislator in the clip below. The state can't wait to slap you around under any circumstance which indicates Boston Scientific is making the right choice. I wouldn't be surprised to see them leave the USA all together.
And who could blame them?
http://articles.boston.com/201.....nvestments
The company would not say how many jobs will be lost in Massachusetts, where fewer than 2,000 of its 25,000 employees are based. In February 2010, Boston Scientific said it would pare 1,300 jobs worldwide, but similarly did not say where.
Yesterday’s move, a day after Boston Scientific disclosed it was investing $150 million and hiring 1,000 people in China, raised fears that the company will gradually shift more work to foreign sites with less government oversight and lower costs than the United States.
“I’ve asked for information on where they are cutting jobs,’’ said state Senator James B. Eldridge, an Acton Democrat. He has proposed so-called clawback legislation that would allow the state to recover money from businesses that receive tax breaks here - including Boston Scientific - and then reduce their workforces.
canuckistani| 8.5.11 @ 4:03PM
I am glad you have finally recognized US HC as a yoke on business.
GM Toyota and Honda expanded into Canada - yes the socialist wasteland to our north precisely because the imbalance on healthcare liabilities was insurmountable. Not Alabama, not Mississippi and not S Carolina could convince them otherwise.
Ontario has no "right to work" laws, very heavy environmental regulations, an at-par dollar, cluttered border crossings, the top income tiers pay up to 46% marginal personal rates, and business income is locked at 25% with few loopholes, and yet heavy industry continues to invest there.Why?
They have a single payer health system and subsidies for job training and innovation to higher levels than any US state. The academic perfomance of graduating high schoolers is in the top ten worldwide, and their spending per student is in the top 5. Canada also has embraced NAFTA moreso than the US or Mexico and have learned how to manage expectations.
Figure it out.
kurgan| 8.7.11 @ 8:19AM
I've said it before and I'll say it again, the world's, "successful" social democracies, Japan, the EU and Canada would be singing a totally different song in regards to their magnificient social programs if they were to be paying for their own defense. The American, "Nuclear Umbrella" is the reason that there is government provided health care in all of these places. Were it not for mother green and the killing machine Canada would most likely be a Soviet province.
Michael Tomlinson| 8.5.11 @ 8:03AM
Romney can beat Obama, but so could my African-American dog Zulu. But is he really the right person to enact the reforms necessary to reverse Obama and the Democrats agenda of economic, moral and spiritual depression? I'm dubious, but in the end if he's the nominee I'll vote for him, because Obama has to go, because the country cannot take another 4 years of this intellectually challenged poster boy for why affirmative action is a failure.
Gung Ho Waffle| 8.5.11 @ 10:12AM
Wouldn't it be more correct to refer to Zulu as a person of fur? Or a Canine-American?
Tampu Tocco| 8.5.11 @ 2:00PM
My dog likes to run around with a stick in its mouth. Does your dog Zulu prefer a spear?
Michael Tomlinson| 8.7.11 @ 9:45AM
Zulu orders our Italian American person of fur to do his dirty work for him. Unlike Obama he readily "admits" he's a tyrant not just a failed wannabe complaining about "messy democracy."
Clint| 8.5.11 @ 10:57AM
The RINO-CINO's are preparing to vote for RINO-CINO Mittens Romney.
canuckistani| 8.5.11 @ 4:05PM
There is noone else to push onto the stage.
Perry is a nut and Rubio is not ready for primetime.
This is Dole 2.0, folks.
KyMouse| 8.5.11 @ 11:03AM
Mr. Tomlinson, tell Zulu to practice kissing babies. Lucy Lou, a red-and-white Scottish Border Collie, is the current mayor of Rabbit Hash, Ky. (www.rabbithash.com). So there's hope.
Occam's Tool| 8.5.11 @ 1:15PM
KyMouse---can you run for Prez? Now, that would be a KY candidate I could support!
Hey, folks, everyone knows Mitt Happens.
Al Adab| 8.5.11 @ 1:41PM
O/T,
Welcome back. Mitt is his Father's son and simply the latest in a long line of easternestablishment Republicans. They have opposed the Conservative movement from its inception. I can think of no reason to reward them whatsoever. How many times have we followed them to defeat? "Let's grow up Conservatives, Lets' get to work."
KyMouse| 8.6.11 @ 7:23AM
Only if you'll be on the ticket, too, OT. Thanks for the vote of confidence!
Michael Tomlinson| 8.7.11 @ 9:47AM
I'm afraid a rabbit on the ticket would be dead meat.
Bugs| 8.7.11 @ 1:20PM
Though, I dare say that Elmer Fudd and that wascally wabbit could beat Obama.
Bo| 8.6.11 @ 12:18AM
Yes. He would've beaten Obama last time.
Chef Schnauzer| 8.5.11 @ 8:03AM
Weak and synthetic. A weak character (if any) and a synthetic, phony conservative. Dole had distant bona fides and was genuinely likeable guy. Romney dosen't even have that. He is a summer time soap bubble in the play yard - shiny, interesting but ultametly - pop - nothing there, nothing. The jackasses at the Republican National Committee love him.
Melvin| 8.5.11 @ 8:04AM
As Affable as Mitt is, the man has no conviction. This Country doesn't need a President that can make great Belgian Waffles, we need someone who has a steel resolve who can tell, "the consensus," to go to hell.
Bo| 8.6.11 @ 12:19AM
Christine O'Donnell for World Leader of the WORLD!!!!
PCP Smoker| 8.5.11 @ 8:06AM
Old news. He repudiated his former pro abortion position in 2008; then, baby bad, must be burned with acid, cut to pieces, and suck up. Today, baby good.
Pink Flamingo| 8.5.11 @ 2:04PM
If you'd be willing to switch to crack cocaine, we'd love to have you in the Democrat Party.
Ho Chi Mihn| 8.6.11 @ 6:49PM
You are being sarcastic, you creep. Romney-Huntsman 012!
Bob| 8.5.11 @ 8:30AM
I just love you Republicans. You are getting set to nominate a person who is pro-abortion, pro-gay rights, pro-amnesty of illegal immigrants, antagonist to the Tea Bags, authored the state version of Obamacare and will lose his home state in a general election. Whoppee!
Michael L. Hauschild| 8.5.11 @ 12:09PM
Well them pesky Republicans never did have much sense. Don't worry Bob, The real HE-MAN PARTY, the Tea PARTY will swoop in and save the country from the evil Snidly Fartlash and his RINO minions.
canuckistani| 8.5.11 @ 4:11PM
Only if they abandon the culture warfront.
Keeping on a simple fiscal/jobs platform is what won the WH for Bubba.
Junior's three planked platform in Texas was also a winner. Some culture warfare undertones, but clear and concise in its practicality.
His pandering in 2000 to religious cons was unseemly and now we are here.
kurgan| 8.7.11 @ 8:39AM
You got a problem there too, in my humble opinion.
Case 1, President Obama gets re-elected and continues to spend the country into financial oblivion. The day eventually comes when the public sector and the welfare class can no longer be appeased and about dark every major population center in the country is on fire.
Or...
Case 2 where some knuckle-head like Ron Paul gets elected president and tells the public sector and the welfare class that the nation can't afford them and about dark every major population center is on fire.
Now that the political parties, Democrat and Republican, have made the beast that you dare not fail to feed, what are we to do? I still say that in the end the country ends up in the control of a military dictatorship.
On top of all of the above, consider what happens when the US can no longer afford to the the world cop. The world, planet earth becomes a shooting gallery, sixty or seventy years of pent up rage at the folks on the other side of the hill. If I were you I'd be looking to be someplace out of the way of these folks, North and South Korea, China and Tiawan, Yugoslavia, all of South America, all of Africa, all of the Middle East. World War V.
N.B. we all know about World Wars I and II. I call the "Cold War" WWIII and the current "War on Terror" WWIV which we're losing by the bye.
My advice is to convert US Federal Reserve notes into something of intrinsic value while there is time. The day will come when folks are using American money to light fires and to insulate their winter clothing and to line the sloles of their shoes.
Ho Chi Mihn| 8.6.11 @ 6:47PM
An honest liberal. Wow. A scumbag liberal but still honest and on point.
Ryan| 8.5.11 @ 9:07AM
What? No Romney staffers yet? Must be late to work...
Anthony| 8.5.11 @ 9:23AM
Go away Romney, you're begining to look and smell like McCain. The look is vacant arrogant, the smell is loser.
We are not going to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in 2012 as we did in 08. America cannot afford another RINO loser, time is too precious.
Obozo is destroying America, while doing hip hop in the White House. I only hope I have some money left after the markets close today. I bet Obozo wasn't too concerned about the 500 point drop as he hip hoped around the W.H, nor his Hollywood pals.
It's time for Momma Grizzly to chase the Jeffersons back to the east side of Chicago.
loulou| 8.5.11 @ 9:49AM
You nailed it! I was wondering why Romney gives me the creeps--it's his vacant look. He has no core beliefs. He's a McCain. Not buying.
Anthony| 8.5.11 @ 10:31AM
Please forgive my intemperate comments about the Jeffersons. I'm still spooked about the market drop.
At least George Jefferson held a real job and ran a small business.
Weesey wasn't an arrogant bitch, and their white friend wasn't a former Weatherman bomb maker and terrorist, cum ghost writer.
Al Adab| 8.5.11 @ 1:43PM
Fortunately Anthony, truth is a defense.
Melvin| 8.5.11 @ 9:28AM
Romney unfortunately is cut from the Globalist world-view, bolt of cloth. This is why he enacted MittCare in MA, and it failed in MA.
For some self-defeating reason, politicians are enamored with all things European.
We don't need another youthful John McCain running for President, and posing as a Conservative. Mitt is a Progressive Globalist who will answer to Brussels instead of the American people.
Mimi| 8.5.11 @ 9:37AM
WE just can't do it ....nominate Romney folks...he's running 22% ...78% says someone else! A stong CONSERVATIVE is the NEED,and WANT for this election. Some of these candidates are evolving, some have yet to appear.....Lets get the most authentic one of the bunch, who has a sense of authority, honesty and is LIKEABLE, speaks with conviction and sticks to PRINCIPLES! Our guys are doing a great job as a group, lighting up our message...what a magnificant bunch of people...they will all be needed , to help this country heal. We have been on the "Obama, road to no-place" This must be turned around!!
Radioman777| 8.5.11 @ 9:48AM
He's a RINO through and through.
MATT M.| 8.5.11 @ 9:58AM
Forget the abortion non-issue Romney will be the nominee.
I have not endorsed Romney or any other candidate.
Nick| 8.5.11 @ 10:40AM
I'd be willing to bet that Romney couldn't identify which article of the Constitution contains the powers of the presidency, or, the Congress or judiciary, for that matter.
If one of the so-called debate moderators wanted to make history this election season, they would quiz all of the GOP candidates on the U.S. Constitution.
That would probably kill the chances of 80% of the field!
JerryM| 8.5.11 @ 11:21AM
I'm so completely sick of politicians claiming to be pro-life, EXCEPT in cases of rape and incest. Can anyone explain to me, what is the point of being pro-life, but NOT for those categories of human life? I thought the point of opposing abortion is respect for innocent life, for all human life, and to protect those who cannot protect themselves. Can someone explain to me how a child conceived of incest or rape is any less human, any less innocent, any less worthy of our protection? I understand, a fetus arising from incest or rape is a vivid and painful reminder to the mother of an awful experience, but why does one person's psychological and emotional pain nullify another person's right to EXIST? Please enlighten me on this.
Tired Taxpayer PRM| 8.5.11 @ 12:04PM
I have often wondered this myself. It seems to me that those who are pro-life except in cases of rape and incest really are not true pro-lifers. They want votes and will say anything they think will get them elected. Abortion bad. Rape or incest? Kill the kid! How does anyone justify this?
Dai Alanye | 8.5.11 @ 3:14PM
I would like to know why any rational human would be willing to force a woman to carry the spawn of her rapist? That is simply punishment of the innocent. It might be regrettable that a rapist's fetus must be sacrificed, but the woman's right should be our greatest concern.
Incest is a different proposition. If the woman is of the age of consent, and does consent, it's simply another birth. If she is younger, it falls into the category of rape.
These things aren't hard to figure out, folks.
Nick| 8.5.11 @ 5:26PM
Dai Alanye,
The "punishment of the innocent" occurs when the innocent unborn baby (fetus in Latin) is killed by the abortionist.
People willing to "sacrifice" a "rapist's fetus" (unborn baby in Latin) are worshipers of Molech.
"These things aren't hard to figure out, folks."
Apparently, for you, they are.
Killing an innocent human being is intrinsically evil. It can never be justified, ever. This is not that hard to figure out, if you expend a little brain power thinking about it.
Nick| 8.5.11 @ 12:26PM
Excellent points, JerryM and Tired Taxpayer PRM!
Rape and incest exceptions are political double-speak. They were the main reasons for why I never fully trusted George W. Bush.
KyMouse| 8.5.11 @ 12:59PM
JerryM, in 2000, Dr. David Reardon, author of "Victims and Victors," surveyed 192 women who had become pregnant through rape or incest. More than 90 percent of the ones who had aborted their babies said that they would discourage other victims from doing so. Ninety-four percent (94%) of the rape victims and 100 % of the incest victims told Reardon that abortion was NOT a good option for women in their situations.
Reardon found out that in virtually every case of pregnancy after incest, the abortion was not the mother's choice; in some cases, it was done over her strong objections. Adults, often the incestuous fathers themselves, demanded that the babies be aborted -- because abortion hides the evidence of the crime of incest. Abortion all but guarantees that the abuse will continue.
Killing the baby doesn't help the young mother, but letting the baby live may help reclaim her self-esteem. The victim may sense that if she can get through the pregnancy, Reardon found, she will have conquered the rape.
A young Kentucky woman who became pregnant through date-rape a few years ago has said, "I've been raped, but I've also been blessed with a beautiful baby girl. And in the end, I've gained more than I've lost."
Julie Makimaa, whose mother conceived her during rape, said in "Aborted Women: Silent No More," "One of the truly perverse things that the pro-abortion movement has done is convince so many people that the child conceived in rape can never had a worthwhile life. [That movement] constantly depicts children of rape and incest as somehow defective, tainted, unwanted...[but] we should understand, as my birth mother did, that EACH child is a God-made miracle."
Some say that it's wrong to ask a woman who conceives through rape or incest to bear a child she doesn't want, but it is a greater injustice to kill her baby. Doing violence to the baby won't undo the violence done to the mother. And many couples are eager to adopt "unwanted" babies.
I ask TAS commenters: How would you react if your mother told you that YOU were conceived through rape or incest?
Would you say, "I should have been killed -- my life is worthless"?
Or would you say, "Thanks, Mom, for giving me a chance -- thanks for letting me live"?
Dai Alanye | 8.5.11 @ 3:18PM
I wonder if KY MOUSE realizes her entire argument is based on utilitarianism rather than justice?
For those women who wish to keep the child, they can do so--but no woman should be forced to carry her rapist's progeny.
Al Adab| 8.5.11 @ 3:43PM
A proper D&C (sorry to be clinical) rather obviates the issue does it not? There may be some, but I doubt many, who would consider that proceedure an abortion.
Margie| 8.7.11 @ 2:02PM
It would be an abortion if they knew there was a baby being formed, Al Adab.
Each person will give an account before their Maker.
I know a sister in Christ who survived two rapes, ( I've posted this before here), both times she became pregnant, and both times she kept the babies. I truly believe that because she chose to honor God by her decisions~ is the reason God sent along a faithful brother in Christ to Marry her. Together they raised the two boys by the rapes, and had another baby girl of their own as well. I know because I used to babysit for them all.
When one is faithful to His command~ "Thou shalt not murder", He always provides for what He sees necessary to care for the Mother and baby.
And there is always adoption as a choice as well.
"For to such belong the Kingdom of God". Mt. 19:14.
KyMouse| 8.8.11 @ 9:46AM
Al Adab, a D&C, also known as "dilation and curettage" or "sharp curettage," is used to kill a first-trimester baby in about three percent of abortions, according to the CDC.
In addition to killing the tiny daughter or son, a D&C can leave part of the baby inside the womb, giving the mother an infection and/or severe bleeding. The curette -- a metal rod with a sharp loop on the end -- can puncture the uterus.
In some cases, a D&C can lead to Asherman's syndrome, which can cause painful or irregular menstrual cycles, future miscarriages, or infertility.
Mothers deserve better than abortion. Every child deserves a chance.
KyMouse| 8.6.11 @ 7:36AM
Dai Alanye, are you really unable to see that my post above is about LOVE, not utilitarianism?
That God LOVES every child, regardless of the child's start in life? That mothers who have been victims of rape or incest report that they grow to LOVE their babies? That childless couples are eager to adopt and LOVE "unwanted" babies?
Justice, Dai? Where is the justice in killing an innocent baby for the crime of his/her father?
So what is your answer to my previous question, Dai: If your mother told you that you had been conceived in rape or incest, would you tell her that your life is worthless, and that you should have been killed before birth?
Or would you thank her for letting you live?
KyMouse| 8.6.11 @ 9:17AM
Dai, here's a different question for you:
If your mother said that she conceived you during rape or incest, and that she wished you had never been born, would you kill yourself to make her happy?
Or would you keep right on living, knowing that her wish should not deprive you of your right to live?
kurgan| 8.7.11 @ 8:47AM
You're wasting your breath Mouse. Stupid is a cruise missile, once it's off the launch rail there's no talking to it.
KyMouse| 8.8.11 @ 9:32AM
Dai Alanye, the unborn baby you so coldly dismiss as the "rapist's progeny" is also the MOTHER's son or daughter. HER helpless child -- HER flesh and blood.
Everyone wants to talk about rights, not reponsibilities. That unborn son or daughter is the mother's responsibility, because at this stage of our medical science, no one can take over the gestation of that child. Only the mother can nurture that child until birth. That tiny son or daughter is her responsibility.
There are millions of people who take on responsibilities that they never expected -- consider, for example, the many grandparents who are raising their children's children. Responsibilities are every bit as important as right.
There are more than 4,000 pregnancy resource centers around this country that are eager to offer assistance to mothers who are in unplanned pregnancies. After the child's birth, they will help find people who are ready to adopt him or her.
Dai, is there ANY child who doesn't deserve that chance?
skip| 8.5.11 @ 2:30PM
You nailed it JerryM.
For as long as I can remember, my point has been, the commandment is not 'thou shall not kill except in cases of rape and incest'. There was no lack of rape and incest during Biblical times just as there is no lack now, times haven't changed that much. If any human is to be killed, kill the guilty, the rapist and incestist, not the only truly innocent human beings there are.
It's the same with those who whine that pro-lifers would resort to forcing women to have back alley abortions again.
Let's see. If the 'choice' is either a woman who failed to 'choose' to avoid pregnancy suffering from a medical procedure that kills her own innocent unborn baby, or the woman killing her own innocent child in a safe and convenient manner without any objection, I know which of those two 'choices' I prefer.
Frank S| 8.5.11 @ 4:19PM
JerryM nails it. What we know about ptsd, life is the compassionate choice for victims of rape and incest.
rtaylortitle| 8.5.11 @ 12:43PM
I will NEVER, Never, Never vote for this chameleon and many fellow GOPer's won't either. Give me Ron Paul or else I vote 3rd Party.
rtaylortitle@aol.com
Occam's Tool| 8.5.11 @ 1:16PM
Sorry, ray---you wouldn't vote for Michelle bachmann or Pawlenty?
You're gonna be disappointed---Paul's going no where.
Johnny H| 8.5.11 @ 2:29PM
Right, Mr. Tool. Vote for the candidate that isn't obama...
Everybody, please do your homework on the house and senate candidates from your states. Elect conservatives to Congress. That's where the laws are made (executive orders notwithstanding). Elect the person that intends to repeal PPACA and undo as much of the undoable that has been foisted upon we, the people.
coltakashi| 8.5.11 @ 2:59PM
Mitt Romney has more personal integrity in his little finger than all of you complainers put together.
When he was just starting Bain Capital in Boston, at a time when most people would be working on building their business 24/7, Romney was devoting 20 hours a week to unpaid service as the leader of his congregation of Mormons in Boston. He was making leadership decisions, and providing financial aid and spiritual counseling to the unemployed and immigrants from Haiti (he speaks their language, French). Instead of getting paid from the congregation, he was contributing 10% of his income TO the Church. Along with his congregation, he was fasting one full day every month so they could donate the food money they saved to help the poor (including many people not belonging to their Church). Romney does not brag about this, because it was service to God and his neighbors, not for his own benefit or aggrandizement.
Does Romney understand the Constitution? He graduated well ranked from both Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School. What are your academic credentials? I have seen articles claiming that Romney is too much of an elite guy. But the critics don't acknowledge that he was giving his free time, 1,000 hours a year, to help those in need of both spiritual and financial support. Which of you critics has done anything that unselfish with your lives?
Remember that Romney stopped working to earn money over a decade ago. He didn't get paid up front for the years he was pulling the 2002 winter Olympics out of the International Olympic Committee bribery scandal and put on the first major international event after 9/11/2001. He isn't running for president because he needs the money, or the publicity so he can start a TV show. He is running purely because he believes in public service.
As to abortion: Romney's position on abortion mirrors the position of the LDS Church, which discourages abortion except when it seriously threatens the physical or mental health of the mother, and even then pleads with the parents (father and mother) to ask God what they should do. The arguments made for keeping babies even in cases of rape are worth considering for women, but there is a difference between persuading someone who has been raped and threatening them with jail and fines if they have an abortion.
Consider this: Unlike the Catholic Church, which officially prohibits artificial birth control, the Mormon Church encourages parents to have as many children as they can care for, without specifically barring the use of contraceptives. The result is that Catholics have small families on the same average as other Americans, while Mormons have the largest families of any Christians in the US. Teaching a positive message about infants as being children of God before they are born does more to combat contraception and abortion than any threat of punishment, either legal or religious. The Mormon approach, Romney's approach, results in MORE life, more children born, than the other approaches you all advocate.
Dai Alanye | 8.5.11 @ 3:27PM
Let us remember that "public service" used with regard to politicians is simple a euphemism for power and notoriety. I have no interest in being serviced publicly by Mitt Romney or any other waffle-meister.
And the point about Mormons producing large families--is this supposed to be a good thing in and of itself? If so, we must choose Michelle Bachmann, mother and foster-mother of two dozen plus. New campaign slogan: Vote For Me, the Most Fertile Candidate!
KyMouse| 8.6.11 @ 7:50AM
Wow, Dai, not only are you against children conceived in rape or incest, you are also against families having lots of children.
There are people who actually love having youngsters around -- and who believe that even babies who aren't planned, privileged or perfect still have the right to live the lives God has given them.
sheryl| 8.5.11 @ 5:21PM
Nice post! I'm a big Mitt Romney fan. I think he'll make one of the finest presidents this country has ever had.
Mitt has so many fine traits: intelligent, kind, a hard worker, problem solver, good family man and an honest, very successful businessman.
He's a great executive leader too in both business, in government and in volunteerism.
Mitt will also rout Obama in the debates, who'll need a teleprompter, a back-up teleprompter and an earpiece to be able to debate Mitt.
I can't wait for the battle between Obama, the guy who thinks he's the smartest man in the room and Mitt, the guy who IS the smartest man in the room.
sheryl| 8.5.11 @ 5:29PM
Nice post was directed to coltakashi, not dai alanye (it's definitely not nice)
Anthony| 8.6.11 @ 10:49AM
Oh boy, another Harvard lawyer. Thanks pal, you've just placed the final nail in this RINOs political coffin.
Tell me, did he also lecture on Constitutional law as our Hip-Hop president did?
Spare us, you're either a lefty troll or a RINO in good standing. Either way you lose and we ain't buying!!
BTW,many of us have given much of our free time and $ to charity and good causes, you snot nosed fool. We'd do a thousand hours also if we were worth $200M. And many of us have lots of integrity, we just don't have a PR machine to get the word out, you pathetic sucker.
It's like Algore; my wife and I give annually to charity 5x that of Algore, whose income is 10x ours!!!! So spare us.
See you on the Utah commune after Romney loses to Mr. Hip-Hop. We are going to need large famlies to work the soil and pull the plows after Obozo sucessfully brings us hope and change 18th century style!!!
Nick| 8.6.11 @ 6:36PM
coltakashi,
The Catholic Church does not threaten "religious" punishment regarding abortion and birth control. She just states the fact that both are evil, and can never be justified. Plus, birth control leads to unwanted pregnancies, which lead to abortions. As Pope Paul VI predicted in his encyclical Humanae Vitae (1968).
Catholics that actually live their faith, can end up with large families. My one sister has 8 children and the other has 4. My parish is blessed with many children.
Also, Romney's position on abortion mirrored Teddy 'the Swimmer' Kennedy's position, i.e., abortion on demand, until the end of 2004, by his own admission.
Just about the time he decided to run for president, I would say. Romney's about as trustworthy on Pro-Life issues as Bubba 'the pervert' Clinton is in a sorority house!
LarryK| 8.5.11 @ 3:10PM
If it's Mitt, I'm gonna quit!
Ken (Old Texican)| 8.5.11 @ 4:23PM
If we can't do better than Mitt....we might as well quit.
Hunker down, lock and load...and don't pay taxes because you are on vacation.
RCV| 8.5.11 @ 4:45PM
As bad as he is, Romney is the only GOP candidate with a chance of beating Obama.
Al Adab| 8.5.11 @ 4:59PM
Then there is no Hope, and Change ($) is all we have left.
RCV| 8.5.11 @ 6:58PM
Unfortunately, for conservatives, I think that's the reality. He could make the ticket more palatable, and stronger, though, by pairing up with Allen West or Mario Rubio. A ticket like that would give the Democrats a run for their money.
kurgan| 8.7.11 @ 8:54AM
It doesn't matter is President Obama is re-elected or somebody else gets the job. Bankruptcy is bankruptcy, elephant or donkey style.
Bob| 8.5.11 @ 5:12PM
Big boost for Romney, NJ Governor Crisco just appointed a Muslim judge to the state court, talk about political suicide. That judge needs to apply shariah law to the governor's weight.
NJ Kay| 8.5.11 @ 5:32PM
No law can govern the governor's diet or weight. His daily consumption of pigs in a blanket and pork chops hardly fits shariah. But you're right about his politics, he just pulled a Mark Sanford, instant political pariah and one term he's done.
Chuck| 8.5.11 @ 5:48PM
I can't believe Christie could do anything so stupid and he did it so close to the 10th anniversary of 9/11. This ranks up there with Gary Hart being caught with his gal pal on the SS Monkey Business. It destroyed Hart's presidential aspirations and permanently damaged him politically the same result for Christie. Governor Corzine where are you?
RCV| 8.5.11 @ 6:56PM
Christie's speech in defense of his appointment is pretty impressive.
RCV| 8.5.11 @ 7:02PM
Here's the link to Christie's remarks.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/a.....08/awesome
RCV| 8.5.11 @ 7:05PM
Link breaks when posted. After ".com", its
/archives/2011/08/awesome
Sarah| 8.5.11 @ 8:35PM
After reading these comments, I am reminded of how insignificant the American Spectator has become.
POST American| 8.5.11 @ 10:53PM
-------------------BOTTOM LINE--------------------
Putting aside the murky, to say the least,
background of Mormonism, Freemasonry,
the ever effective Arminian Heresy, and
EUGENICS -----ALLLLL long and deeply
intertwined
take a good look at Romneycare, 'PRO
'Banker Bailout' etc. Mitt.
What's this latest Tavistock/CFR/RIIA/Rockefeller
EUGENICS mafia set up telling you?
---------BEHOLD! there he is!
The ULTIMATE 'Organization Man'.
AS the Globalist RED China sellout and TREASON
op consolidates ---------is that REALLY where
we want to go?
Glein| 8.5.11 @ 11:21PM
Please make sense!
John Navratil| 8.6.11 @ 6:17PM
Glein,
The scroll button makes more sense.
Glein| 8.5.11 @ 11:21PM
Romney = RINO. If Electected he will continue the American decline but slower!
Bo| 8.6.11 @ 12:25AM
The Spectator has a lot of commentators that want to relive 1964. If you think Jesus said the best way to win a football game is by the kneel down, you'll lose. Get the most you can get out of every situation.
cats1cowboy| 8.6.11 @ 5:44AM
Let's not forget that Governor romney dissed the Philly cheesesteak.
POST American| 8.6.11 @ 8:15AM
----------------BOTTOM LINE P.S.----------------
Let us clarify:
WE'RE SICK OF FREEMASONRY and MASONS!
(ie the originators and pushers of the Globalism, USURY and EUGENICS agenda)
WE DEMAND our religion, our economy,
our culture and our country ---BACK!
-----------------------GET IT?!---------------------------
DaveS| 8.6.11 @ 11:30AM
Romney should have told Margaret Marshall to take a hike (gay marriage) and dared the Attorney General arrest him.
Jeb Bush could have saved Teri Schiavo - a woman who was expected by the experts to die in 36 hours but lived more than a week after her 'ravaged' and 'weakened' person was denied the most rudimentary nourishment.
These guys - if not RINOs - are pretty darn close.
Give us Rick Perry (an adult) and we'll mop Junior all over the floor. Just looking at Perry and you get the sense that he has the sense.
I have a niece in MAssachusetss who lives at parents' home, makes less than 10,000 a year and does not qualify for the cut-rate premium under Romneycare. She makes too much. Romney could cut his losses and denounce his namesake and stupid health care plan. There's, what, maybe two private insurers left in Massachusetts?
I Survived Arlen Specter| 8.6.11 @ 1:13PM
Myth Romney = Arlen Specter. I know, because I lived through the Specter nightmare in PA. Myth may have a better grasp of economics than Specter did, but he is still a left leaning Republican a la Arlen Specter. If Myth Romney is the GOP nominee come 2012 I will be writing in Sarah Palin in the general election. No more RINOs!
Clinton Lovell| 8.6.11 @ 4:57PM
We have bigger fish to fry than this. Squabbling over morality is not the issue right now in my very humble opinion. I'm more worried about whether or not we will even have a country. So far, neither the pro-life or pro-choice Republicans have made any difference. We need authentic conservatives who will not be swayed by the corruption that is Washington. Maybe being pro-life would help in that endeavor. This looks like a hit piece, but I guess the Establishment RINOs have nothing better to do seeing how they have no supportable economic plan once you dig into "compassionate conservativism".
I don't care if he likes abortion or not. I care whether or not he will reduce spending to no more than 18.9% of GDP and start paying down the damn debt. We can worry about the rest when and if we survive what is to come.
John Navratil| 8.6.11 @ 6:36PM
Clinton Lovell,
Quite right, sir! Especially for the POTUS.
Even if he is the most ardent Pro-life candidate or drives the bus for Planned Parenthood, what difference does it make? From the Presidency all he can do is exhort. It will take Congress to pass a bill he agrees with for his signature to effect any change. While the moral questions clearly speak to the character of the man and are of real interest, they are of greater import for legislative candidates than the executive.
Where the President has the power is in running the executive branch. His appointments to Atty. General, Sec. of State, and commitment to holding the line on spending bills are the issues for THIS office. An ideological commitment to reducing the size and scope of government is paramount. It's no compromise to vote for the candidate whose views will best effect his performance in the job for which he is a candidate.
Nick| 8.6.11 @ 7:27PM
Mr. Navratil,
This is why the Pro-Life issue is so important: Pro-Lifers tend to be, not always, but tend to be consistent, small government conservatives. While pro-abortion Republicans tend to be big spend and taxers, like Snowe, Collins, S-P-E-C-T-O-R, etc. In other words, RINOs.
John Navratil| 8.6.11 @ 8:15PM
Nick,
I am staunchly pro-life and agree with you for many reasons. Santorum makes the point that one cannot be an economic conservative without being a social conservative. I am not persuaded; correlation is not causality.
For a legislator I look for economic AND social conservatism. For POTUS, I'm less concerned about social issues.
In all cases I look for someone who reveres this great nation.
Nick| 8.6.11 @ 11:35PM
Mr. Navratil,
Since Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton were decided in 1973:
Nixon = pro-abortion.
Ford = pro-abortion.
Reagan = Pro-Life.
Bush I = Barely Pro-life.
Dole = Barely Pro-Life.
Bush II = Barely Pro-Life.
McLame = Barely Pro-Life.
Do you see a pattern emerging here?
John Navratil| 8.7.11 @ 9:32AM
Nick,
My brother-in-law is an atheist and pro-choice. We disagree completely almost to the point of having to avoid the issues. He is also fiercely small government and would have no difficulty firing half the government. I would not vote for him for Congress but would be happy with him as chief executive.
I see your pattern, but reiterate that coincidence is not causality. I would not, for instance, vote for Ron Paul for President regardless of his strongly pro-life position as I disagree with his foreign policy views. Similarly, I would vote for a Margaret Thatcher despite her liberal abortion positions.
By all means, choose the candidate closest to your views in all things. I suggest the views which most directly affect the job at hand be given more weight than others where the job permits more limited action.
Clint| 8.7.11 @ 11:40AM
Neo-Cons Sell Out Fiscal Conservatives & Social Conservatives For Their Foreign Policy Agenda.
This Is Exactly Why We Got The Serial Traitor To Conservatism, John McCain, Of Mccain-Feingold, McCain-Kennedy, McCain-Lieberman, Gang Of 14, Opposing Bush Cuts Of 2001 & 2003, TARP, And Anti-Tea Party Mouth.
The Tea Party Rebellion Is Placing Our Candidates For The 2012 Elections.
Rise Up In Rebellion.
Nick| 8.7.11 @ 12:31PM
Mr. Navratil,
I never claimed that there weren't exceptions to the rule, which I believe your brother-in-law is.
I know there are many issues which must be considered. But, I believe character and morality are the main ones.
Anyone who believes it is okay to deprive a certain class of people, the unborn, of their lives, will have no problem with depriving the rest of us of our liberty and property.
John Navratil| 8.7.11 @ 2:01PM
Nick,
As I said at the start, I basically agree and don't advocate anyone compromising his principles. I'd just hate to see Obama get re-elected because of an issue which cannot be affected from the Presidency. After the primaries, I hope we are not so dispirited as to sit this one out.
I am sorry that Santorum isn't getting more traction. I'm equally sorry that Romney is. He is my least favourite choice among the probable contenders and it's not because he is squishy on abortion but because he seems weak on principles in general.
All in all, I'll take any one of the bunch over what we have now. But then again, I've got a yellow dog I'd prefer as well.
Nick| 8.7.11 @ 5:45PM
Mr. Navratil,
"All in all, I'll take any one of the bunch over what we have now."
On this, we pretty much agree.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
dadfly| 8.6.11 @ 11:41PM
sorry bud and the other apologists here for moral relativist romney, but you couldn't be more wrong. it is a both logically provable (aristotelian logic) and an empirically supportable statement that:
economic prosperity follows from societally enforced law based on consensus morality (ethos). this finding is so strong that it often trumps political organization. conversely, it is easily falsified that moral relativism (i.e., morality of the void or of the one) implies economic prosperity.
Michael Tomlinson| 8.7.11 @ 9:49AM
George W. Bush was the most pro-life President in US history. Get your facts right. His stand on stem cells and Terry Schivo were moral acts of courage that Reagan would never have taken.
cats1cowboy| 8.7.11 @ 12:06PM
Romney The RINO also thinks that there is no nutritional value in a Philly cheesesteak. He has no clue about how to relate to real people. He's a spoiled little rich-bi tch and needs to go home. However, in his defense, he would still be better than obama. But so would a Philly cheesesteak.
Zbigniew Mazurak| 8.7.11 @ 1:58PM
I rarely praise James Antle, but in this case, I would like to. He deserves credit for reminding those who have forgotten about who Romney really is about his past statements on these two issues.
POST American| 8.8.11 @ 12:06AM
--------------------BOTTOM LINE----------------------
AS we're being rammed through the 'Bill' Gates
of international USURY receivership and
that 1.5 quadrillion in FAKE derivatives debt
---ALL against the backdrop of the finishing off
CFR/RIIA RED China sellout and TREASON op,
time, once again, to consider the names.
Barack (means RAM in Persian)
O ---BAM ---UH ----is self evident
And this latest Freemasonic front op
put before us, the unquestionably 'on board'
Mitt Romney?
--Like the 'beating round the Bush's, and the ROD--ham Clintons and the Rockefeller front op
Obama --'continuity of agenda' rules.
---For the takedown op----what to make of
the name of this latest contender?
MITT ROME ---KNEE
Mit meaning 'with' in German.
Think tyranny with a knee on your back.
As ever, the capstone creeps LOVE word
play.
---It's their only joy!
REALLY ------it is!