James Bopp, one of the top pro-life attorneys in the nation who has served as legal counsel for the National Right to Life Committee, Christian Coalition, Citizens United and the Republican Party, has endorsed Mitt Romney.
“Like all conservative Republicans, and most Americans, I believe that the future of our country, and the preservation of our way of life, depends on the defeat of President Barack Obama and his replacement with a president who supports free enterprise, limited government, traditional family values, and a strong national defense, based upon the principles of our United States Constitution,” Bopp says in an open letter.
“I have stayed neutral, hoping that one candidate would emerge with the demonstrated ability and support to take on and defeat President Obama. That candidate has now emerged and, as a result, it is time to put aside our minor intra-family differences, to end the increasingly divisive primary fight, and to unite to focus on achieving our shared goal of defeating President Obama,” he added. “That candidate is Governor Mitt Romney.”
Bopp continues, “Mitt Romney is a true conservative. One does not have to guess what Mitt Romney would do in office. He served for four years as Governor of Massachusetts and has a record that conservatives should be proud of.”
Bopp says Romney took pro-life actions as governor of Massachusetts following his conversion to the pro-life position.
“As Governor, Romney fought for social conservative values. He vetoed bills that would have authorized state funding of embryonic cloning, would have changed the definition of human life from fertilization to implantation and would have given young women the morning-after abortion pill without a prescription. He promoted abstinence education in public schools,” Bopp explained. “And in contrast to the Obama Administration’s war on the Catholic Church by mandating their institutions to provide contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs in their health care plans, Governor Romney vetoed a bill that would have required Catholic hospitals to offer abortion-inducing drugs to potential rape victims.”
“Of course, it is true that Romney had a conversion to the pro-life cause, not unlike other Republicans such as Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. We should not only embrace him as a result of this conversion, but also recognize that he is a success story. But the best test of the sincerity of a conversion is deeds, and Mitt Romney was “consistently pro-life” as Governor, according to the President of Massachusetts Citizens for Life,” Bopp continues.
Bopp endorsed Romney in the 2008 election cycle. https://www.lifenews.com/2007/01/30/nat-2903/
Saying that former Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush were converts to the pro-life cause as well, Bopp told LifeNews.com that the pro-life community “needs to be open to those who have a sincere conversion to the pro-life cause.”
“When he was Governor and scientists were attempting to persuade him to support government funding of embryonic stem cell research, they said that there was no moral issue, because they destroy the embryos after 14 days,” Bopp explained. “This hit him hard, how Roe v. Wade had cheapened life, and he publicly announced that he wanted to be considered pro-life.”
He said a specific life-changing experience like Romney’s is “persuasive.”
Bopp also indicated that Romney’s subsequent actions have affirmed his newfound pro-life stance.
“He vetoed the bill on embryonic stem cell research and some other efforts to liberalize the Massachusetts abortion law,” Bopp said.
Ultimately, Bopp told LifeNews.com that a frank discussion of pro-life issues persuaded him.
“I have meet with him personally, discussed these issues with him and am satisfied that his pro-life position is sincere,” he concluded.
