Romney says abortion issues not part of his presidential agenda

In what is being cast by many reports as a move to the center, GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney told the Des Moines Register that, if elected, he would not pursue specific legislation targeting abortion. Opponents say this is a marked difference from his comments earlier in the campaign.

The Washington Post: Romney: No Abortion Legislation On His Agenda
Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney told the Des Moines Register Tuesday that legislation regulating abortion would not be a part of his agenda, prompting the Obama campaign to suggest he was trying to confuse women voters about his position on the emotionally charged issue (Williams, 10/9).

The Associated Press/Washington Post: Romney Promises No Abortion Legislation Will Be Part Of Presidential Agenda
Wading into an explosive social issue, Republican Mitt Romney on Tuesday said he would not pursue any abortion-related legislation if elected president. "There's no legislation with regards to abortion that I'm familiar with that would become part of my agenda," he told the Des Moines Register in an interview posted on the newspaper's website (10/9).

Reuters: Romney Says Won't Pursue New Abortion Laws
Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, in an apparent fresh move toward the political center, said on Tuesday if elected he would not pursue specific legislation targeting abortion. "There's no legislation with regards to abortion that I'm familiar with that would become part of my agenda," Romney told the Des Moines Register's editorial board during a campaign visit to Van Meter, Iowa (Holland, 10/10).

National Journal: Romney: Abortion Not On My Agenda
Mitt Romney said on Tuesday that he has no plans for abortion legislation if elected president, a statement that is more moderate than ones he's made on the issue in the past. "There's no legislation with regards to abortion that I'm familiar with that would become part of my agenda," Romney told the Des Moines Register editorial board (Huisenga, 10/9).

ABC: Romney Appears To Shift To Center On Abortion Legislation Plans
Democrats and abortion rights activists have seized on Mitt Romney's recent comment to the Des Moines Register that he would not pursue any new restrictions on abortion rights as president, an apparent change from what he has said earlier in the campaign and during the Republican presidential primaries (Wolf, 10/9).

The Hill: Celebs Lambaste GOP Over Abortion
A slew of film and television stars are pushing back against GOP efforts to ban abortion and stop President Obama's birth-control mandate. Meryl Streep, Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick, Amy Poehler and others mounted an online push for a "Bill of Reproductive Rights" on Tuesday in collaboration with an international abortion-rights group. The campaign does not target Republicans or the GOP by name, but its message clearly echoes the "war on women" charge leveled at the right. "Every day, the opponents of our fundamental reproductive rights are passing laws designed to take those rights away," Streep says in a video for the campaign (Viebeck, 10/9).