Romney says no change on abortion

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Governor Mitt Romney, under fire for an adviser's remark that he has been ''faking" his support of abortion rights, insisted yesterday that he would not back off his 2002 campaign pledge to uphold Massachusetts abortion laws, saying, ''I take my promises very seriously."

The Republican governor and possible 2008 presidential contender was forced to deal with questions about his abortion position during a trip to this key primary state a day after his top political consultant, Michael Murphy, was quoted in the conservative National Review as saying that Romney has been ''a prolife Mormon faking it as prochoice friendly."

''While I've said time and again that I oppose abortion, I've also indicated that I would not change in any way the abortion laws of Massachusetts, and I've honored my promises," Romney said during a press conference at the Radisson Center of New Hampshire before a scheduled speech to the New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women.

Romney also offered words of support for Murphy, who issued a statement of regret after the magazine quotation circulated among reporters and consultants the day earlier. ''Mike Murphy and I chatted, and he clarified what he had meant to communicate," Romney said last night. ''He's a great friend, and I accept his clarification."

Murphy, who declined to be interviewed yesterday, said Thursday that he was ''discussing a characterization the governor's critics use" in saying Romney was ''faking it." But a spokesman for National Review said yesterday that Murphy's comment was quoted accurately, fairly, and in the exact context it was presented.

''National Review is a respected magazine; John Miller is a respected journalist," said Jack Fowler, National Review's associate publisher, referring to the article's author, whom the magazine declined to make available for comment.

''This was an accurate quote; John has gone back and checked his notes diligently," Fowler said. ''It was on the record, and it was said as part of a longer interview discussion about abortion politics. I don't know out of what context it could have been taken."

In the National Review article, Romney is quoted as saying: ''My political philosophy is prolife."

Yesterday, Romney refused to elaborate on that description, saying instead: ''I don't want to get into a philosophical discussion of a federal law and a case that's been in the books for 30 years, and that is distracting from my agenda." He added, ''I oppose abortion, but I will maintain the laws as they exist in Massachusetts."

Murphy's comment drew immediate criticism from Democrats and abortion rights supporters, who suggested that Romney is portraying himself as an abortion rights supporter for liberal and moderate Massachusetts voters while describing himself as an abortion opponent for conservative presidential primary voters.

Romney's position on abortion has long been the subject of intense scrutiny. In 1994, he said abortion should be ''safe and legal in this country," and in 2002 he promised to support the status quo on abortion in Massachusetts.

But beginning earlier this year, as Romney began testing his own viability as a presidential candidate, Romney appears to have made an effort to emphasize his personal opposition to abortion.

In February, Romney told South Carolina Republicans that he was ''personally prolife." Last week, he said in a nationally published interview that he is ''in a different place" on the abortion issue than he was during his 1994 Senate campaign but would not elaborate.

Romney restricted his comments yesterday to his job as governor and did not discuss how he would approach the abortion issue if elected president. He spoke for about two minutes to reporters, delivering brief remarks and answering three questions. In his speech to the GOP women's group later in the evening, he did not mention his position on abortion or the controversy over Murphy's comment.

Still, Romney's stance on the abortion issue could be tested soon in Massachusetts. On Wednesday, the Legislature's Committee on Public Health reported out a bill that would make it easier for women to obtain so-called morning-after emergency contraception.

In 2002, Romney answered a Planned Parenthood questionnaire that he supported efforts to increase access to such drugs, but the governor's comments yesterday suggested he has no intention of altering state laws either for or against increased abortion access.

''I would veto a change" of state law, Romney said yesterday, not speaking specifically about the emergency contraception bill. ''We're going to maintain the status quo as we have in Massachusetts. It's a moratorium, if you will, on change."

The Romney press conference was his first public appearance following the National Review report, one of two cover stories in conservative magazines about the governor this week. But questions remain about Romney's ability to win support of dyed-in-the-wool conservatives.

Tom McClusky of the Washington-based Family Research Council said in a interview with the Globe late last month that Romney would face a tough road if he runs for president in 2008, largely because of questions about his abortion stance. McClusky said abortion is a more polarizing issue than ever.

''For a lot of people, especially Christian conservatives, it's one of those black-and-white issues," McClusky said. ''You're either prolife or not. That's the trouble with Governor Romney; he's gray."

Romney's critics on Beacon Hill held a press conference yesterday demanding that he provide a fuller explanation about his beliefs on abortion.

''He owes it to the people of Massachusetts to tell us the truth," said Representative Martha Walz, a Boston Democrat and abortion rights supporter.

To some extent, the longstanding confusion over Romney's abortion policies has been created not by Romney, but by his political handlers. In 1994, Romney's US Senate campaign spokesman, Charles Manning, told reporters that ''tiny nuances" separated Romney and Kennedy on the topic of abortion.

In July 2001, Romney friend and political activist Kem Gardner recalled in an interview with the Salt Lake Tribune that Romney ''was running against Ted Kennedy in a state that was 80 percent prochoice, and to have any chance at all, he was waffling." Gardner later apologized for his comments as being uninformed.

In the 2002 gubernatorial campaign, Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom told reporters that Romney's position on abortion was ''exactly the same position as any other prochoice politician." Romney's running mate, Kerry Healey, buttressed that idea by saying, ''There isn't a dime of difference between Mitt Romney's position on choice and Shannon O'Brien," who was an outspoken advocate for abortion rights.

Abortion supporters in the Bay State say they believe he has chosen his words carefully.

''He's very careful to say that he's not going to change the status quo . . . but in his questionnaire he filled out for us, he really went beyond the status quo," said Melissa Kogut, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts. ''He made commitments on a range of issues."

Globe correspondent Janette Neuwahl contributed to this report.