Pro-lifers ‘miffed’ by Romney’s absence
Russ Jones - OneNewsNow - 1/19/2012 7:50:00 AM
Four of the five remaining GOP candidates gathered in Greenville, South Carolina, Wednesday for the first-ever exclusively pro-life presidential forum. All but one of the candidates participated in the event that streamed live on the Internet.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, and Texas Governor Rick Perry participated in-person in the town hall-style event sponsored by Personhood USA. Texas Congressman Ron Paul spoke via satellite.
Jennifer Mason, communication director for Personhood USA, tells OneNewsNow that voters are dissatisfied with liberal Republican candidates who claim to be pro-life in word, but not in deed.
“I think that this is really indicating kind of a shift in the pro-life movement where these candidates can’t just say they’re pro-life, they have to show us that they really are pro-life and they really believe that life is sacred,” says Mason.
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the current frontrunner of the pack, received the same invitation as all the other candidates but chose not to participate in the Presidential Pro-life Forum. That decision, according to The Daily Caller, “noticeably miffed” the event organizers, who were told by the Romney campaign that their candidate had a scheduling conflict.
“He’s the only candidate who did not sign our pro-life pledge,” notes Mason. “… We’ve been told by many people that this would have been a great opportunity for him to clear up some questions about his pro-life or pro-choice stance, we’re not sure. All we know at this point is that he ... decided not to come.”
Romney, who had supported legalized abortion while governor of Massachusetts, says he changed his mind on the issue after weighing legislation that “would have created new embryos for the purpose of destroying them.” His campaign website includes a section titled “My Pro-Life Pledge.”
