Mitt Romney Receives Pro-Life Group’s Award, Mentions Abortion Change 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
May 11, 2007
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney received an award from the state pro-life group in Massachusetts last night. During his keynote speech, he talked about the evolution of his position on abortion despite recent comments that he was tired of being questioned about it.
Romney’s remarks came during the Massachusetts Citizens for Life’s Mother’s Day dinner.
He acknowledged his shift on abortion a couple years ago in a statement after getting the award.
"It is an honor to receive this award. I recognize that it is awarded for where I am on life, not for where I have been," he said.
"I respect the fact that you arrived at this place of principle a long time ago. And I appreciate the fact that you are inclined to honor someone who arrived here only a few years ago," Romney added.
Romney told the audience that his change of heart is evidence of their "relentless campaign to promote the sanctity of human life" and that it "bears fruit."
Romney spoke at length about his shift on the issue of abortion — "And so I publicly acknowledged my error, and joined with you to promote the sanctity of human life," he said.
But that comes after complaining about questions on it during a Monday night interview on the Fox News Channel program "Hannity and Colmes."
"What I find interesting is, had I been pro-life and then changed to pro-choice, no one would ask the question," the former Massachusetts governor said on the show.
He added: "But if you go the other direction, as I have … and it’s like the media can’t get enough of it: ‘Oh, well, why did you change?’ "
During the remainder of Romney’s speech, the former governor made the kind of remarks he needed to in order to attract support from the pro-life community and show he understands the pro-life perspective he claims to support.
"What some see as a mere clump of cells is actually a human life," he said. "Human life has identity. Human life has the capacity to love and be loved. Human life has a profound dignity, undiminished by age or infirmity."
"Make no mistake: abortion [is] .. not [a] right to be discovered in the Constitution," he explained.
Romney also talked about the kind of justice he would appoint to the Supreme Court and cited comments Chief Justice John Roberts made at his confirmation hearing, when he described the role of a judge.
Roberts said, "Judges and Justices are servants of the law, not the other way around. Judges are like umpires. Umpires don’t make the rules, they apply them…and I will remember that it’s my job to call balls and strikes and not to pitch or bat."
Romeny concluded, "Now that’s the type of Justice that I would appoint to the court."
