The Boston Globe on Friday examined several recent actions and statements by Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) about abortion and sex education that seem to "correspond with a rightward shift" as he considers whether to run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. When Romney was elected, he indicated support for abortion rights, answering "yes" to a 2002 Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts questionnaire that asked if he supported "the substance" of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down state abortion bans. In addition, Romney said he supported state funding for abortions for low-income women. In the 2002 questionnaire, Romney also indicated his support of comprehensive sex education, saying he supported "the teaching of responsible, age-appropriate, factually accurate health and sexuality education, including information about both abstinence and contraception."

Changing Abortion Position?
However, Romney in recent weeks has "played up his personal opposition to abortion" in out-of-state political speeches and last week signed a measure establishing a "Right to Privacy Day" but eliminated a reference to Roe, the Globe reports. The proclamation, which has been signed by state governors since 1996, marks the anniversary of the Supreme Court's 1972 Baird v. Eisenstadt decision, which legalized birth control for unmarried people, and previously stated that the Baird ruling was a "decision that was quoted six times in subsequent cases, including Roe v. Wade." Romney spokesperson Eric Fehrnstrom at first said the removal of the Roe mention was part of an effort to "more carefully scrutinize" the many proclamations the governor signs each year and was not political. However, upon questioning by the Globe, Fehrnstrom said that senior staff members had discussed the issue and decided to remove the "extraneous" reference to Roe to keep the focus on Baird, the Globe reports. The omission does not have any practical effect, and state abortion-rights groups said they were not aware of the deletion before being contacted by Globe staff, according to the Globe. Marie Sturgis, legislative director of Massachusetts Citizens for Life, said that she has not seen any change in Romney's position on abortion and considers Romney to be an abortion-rights supporter, according to the Globe. However, PPLM spokesperson Erin Rowland said, "We are very concerned about the direction that he's heading in, the change in style and rhetoric around a whole host of issues -- abortion is one of those, of course" (Greenberger, Boston Globe, 3/25).

Sex Education Issue
Romney earlier this month also proposed a state budget measure that would have required the state to spend its $740,000 federal abstinence-only sex education grant for classroom use only, according to the Globe. The original Legislature-approved language would have allowed the state Department of Public Health to use the federal abstinence funds in the classroom or in outreach campaigns, such as advertisements on buses or in subway stations. However, after signing a supplemental budget for the state, Romney returned to the Legislature a section on the state's usage of federal abstinence-only funds, requesting that it be reworded to specify that federal funds can be used only for classroom activities. Both the state House and Senate rejected the proposal (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 3/11). Melissa Kogut, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts, said Romney has "basically chosen to promote abstinence-only education programs in our schools, despite the fact that during his campaign for governor he said he supported comprehensive programs."

Romney Response
Fehrnstrom said that Romney's positions on abortion rights and sex education have not changed since the 2002 campaign, the Globe reports. He added that Romney is "personally opposed to abortion, supports parental consent laws and he is in favor of the ban on partial-birth abortion." Fehrnstrom also said that Romney "would not change the status quo on abortion in Massachusetts and neither add nor subtract from those laws, and he hasn't" (Boston Globe, 3/25).