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Hamlette

(15,394 posts)
Mon Jul 30, 2012, 04:43 AM Jul 2012

Did Romney lie about the "close family relative" who died from an illegal abortion?

in 1994 Romney said he was pro-choice because a "close family relative" died after an illegal abortion which is why he believed abortion should be safe an legal.

Does anyone know if Mitt has been asked why he no longer believes the death of a "close family relative" is a factor to be considered in deciding if abortion should be safe and legal?

If he's not been asked, how do we get someone to ask him?

Does anyone know who the "close family relative" is? Is that person made up? Couldn't we find out if he made that "close family relative" up? Was it just another Romney lie? Seems worthy of exposure either way.

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Did Romney lie about the "close family relative" who died from an illegal abortion? (Original Post) Hamlette Jul 2012 OP
More details in the online article. mazzarro Jul 2012 #1
"botched backstreet abortion" Javaman Jul 2012 #7
Didn't most families have that? Mine did. aquart Jul 2012 #2
I had an OP up about this a few weeks back.. Fumesucker Jul 2012 #3
"I do not impose my beliefs on other people." Spitfire of ATJ Jul 2012 #5
being a missionary is a far cry from outlawing abortion Hamlette Jul 2012 #9
"so they keep track of him as we move around the city." Spitfire of ATJ Jul 2012 #10
not true Hamlette Jul 2012 #11
Yeah, but look at how small Switzerland is. Spitfire of ATJ Jul 2012 #12
true enough Hamlette Jul 2012 #13
thanks for posting this Hamlette Jul 2012 #8
Did Romney lie? liberal N proud Jul 2012 #4
No, it's true Freddie Jul 2012 #6

mazzarro

(3,450 posts)
1. More details in the online article.
Mon Jul 30, 2012, 05:41 AM
Jul 2012

General expectation is that the issue will re-surface somewhere during the campaign - possibly during the debates and the issue is causing some anxiety for Rmoney's campaign.



Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney has kept a shocking family abortion secret from his pro-life supporters!

The White House hopeful was left devastated when a beloved relative died after undergoing a botched backstreet abortion The National Enquirer exclusively learned. Ann Keenan, the younger sister of Romney’s brother-in-law, died at age 21 after contracting a fatal infection following an illegal abortion in 1963, and political insiders say the tragedy had a profound effect on the future politician.

<... snip ..>

http://www.radaronline.com/.../mitt-romney-abortion-bombshell-backstreet

Javaman

(62,444 posts)
7. "botched backstreet abortion"
Mon Jul 30, 2012, 09:27 AM
Jul 2012

so rather than lobby for safe abortions access for all women, he throws out every option.

That's not anti-abortion, that's anti-woman.

just more jackassing from lost mittens.

Fumesucker

(45,851 posts)
3. I had an OP up about this a few weeks back..
Mon Jul 30, 2012, 05:48 AM
Jul 2012
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002691753

http://www.salon.com/2011/08/08/mitt_romney_abortion_ann_keenan/singleton/

In a 1994 Senate debate with Ted Kennedy, Mitt Romney revealed a startling chapter from his past: A close relative had died many years earlier in a botched illegal abortion, shaping Romney’s stance in favor of safe and legal access to abortion for all women. But in the many years since that revelation, even as Romney flipped his position and became an ardent opponent of legal abortion, the details of his young relative’s story, including even her name, have never been reported.

The relative he was referring to back in ’94, Salon has learned, was a Detroit woman named Ann Keenan. She was the sister of Romney’s brother-in-law and died at the age of 21 in 1963, a full decade before Roe v. Wade. While much of what happened remains murky, an investigation by Salon has uncovered never-reported details about her life and death, including: how she died (an infection); that her grief-stricken parents asked for memorial donations to be made to Planned Parenthood; and that the family apparently wanted to keep the death quiet because Romney’s politically ambitious father, George, was then governor of Michigan.

With access to abortion increasingly restricted in many states and the possibility that a Republican victory in 2012 — potentially by Romney — will tilt the balance of the Supreme Court against Roe v. Wade, Romney’s account of how a back-alley abortion touched his own family is more relevant than ever. The episode is a window into an era when obtaining an abortion meant the real risk of serious injury or death. It also represents a key part of Romney’s political journey on the issue of abortion, which has more than any other tarred him as a flip-flopper.

The outlines of the story first became public when Romney — unprompted — brought it up in that 1994 debate with Kennedy, whom he was trying to unseat. At the time, Romney, who was making his first bid for office, was struggling to prove his pro-choice bona fides to liberal Massachusetts voters. In the debate, he insisted that he separated his personal beliefs — opposition to abortion — from his policy position that abortion “should be safe and legal in this country.” Accused by Kennedy of being “multiple-choice,” Romney angrily fired back:


“On the idea of ‘multiple-choice,’ I have to respond. I have my own beliefs, and those beliefs are very dear to me. One of them is that I do not impose my beliefs on other people. Many, many years ago, I had a dear, close family relative that was very close to me who passed away from an illegal abortion. It is since that time that my mother and my family have been committed to the belief that we can believe as we want, but we will not force our beliefs on others on that matter. And you will not see me wavering on that.”
 

Spitfire of ATJ

(32,723 posts)
5. "I do not impose my beliefs on other people."
Mon Jul 30, 2012, 06:31 AM
Jul 2012

Did he say this before or after he went off to France as a missionary?

Hamlette

(15,394 posts)
9. being a missionary is a far cry from outlawing abortion
Mon Jul 30, 2012, 12:08 PM
Jul 2012

I live in Utah and they send missionaries around once a year or so. You get especially hard hit if you move, as we did in 1994, missionaries and people form the local ward (church) were sent to bring us into the fold. My husband was baptized at a young age so they keep track of him as we move around the city.

They are actually far less obnoxious than the 7th Day missionaries. Mormons really are on a charm offensive as missionaries. If you tell them you know about the mormon church and are not interested, they ask if there is anything we need they can help with. At least the ones from the local ward/church do. I swear to god if I asked them to paint my house they'd send a bunch of young people around the next day to do it.

I'm gonna pick my battles. I don't care that they knock on my door or that they try to hoodwink people into believing their fairy tale. I do care when they make laws I have to live by based on that fairy tale.

Romney got it right the first time: impose his beliefs. Missionaries don't do that. They just inform and try to persuade. If they want to do that respectfully about abortion, fine. I'm not talking the protesters at abortion clinics. I'm talking knocking on my door and asking me if I want to know more about the Mormon church. That's fine with me.

 

Spitfire of ATJ

(32,723 posts)
10. "so they keep track of him as we move around the city."
Mon Jul 30, 2012, 05:15 PM
Jul 2012

That's just plain creepy.

The church easily could define your whole life.

Play along and you get promoted to management at work. If you are an atheist you find yourself stuck in a clerical position.

Hamlette

(15,394 posts)
11. not true
Mon Jul 30, 2012, 08:04 PM
Jul 2012

I'm an out and proud atheist who is at the top of my profession. No where else for me to go...in the upward direction that is.

Don't get me wrong. I will not apologize for Mormons. I think they get tons of stuff wrong, but the church doesn't define my life. And I don't care that they follow DH when we move. Many boys in my generation were baptized in large part because Mormon wards (churches) are designed for multiple uses. Yes, almost all of them are ugly but they have basketball courts etc. So, kids would go there to play ball with their mormon friends (we didn't differentiate until we started dating) and ended up getting dunked.

And most of the ones I know refuse to have their names taken off the rolls. Because that would give the church more power than it deserves.

Living in Utah is great in many ways. Its us vs them. If you are not one of them, you are instantly my best friend regardless of religion, gender, race etc. We're a pretty tight knit group. Others have trouble coping with Mormons. They do let them them control their lives because they are so negative toward Mormons. But if you've traveled, Mormons are less weird than many other religions or other tight knit groups like the Swiss. The Swiss cannot sell anything on Sunday except food at a restaurant. Everything closes except the grocery store at the airport. They even unplug the vending machines. What's up with that? The Swiss! Who we tend to think of as more advanced than we are. Don't get stuck there on a Sunday and expect to fill up the fridge or even get a Coke.

 

Spitfire of ATJ

(32,723 posts)
12. Yeah, but look at how small Switzerland is.
Mon Jul 30, 2012, 08:34 PM
Jul 2012

One could always cross the border if you wanted to drive those mountain roads.

[img][/img]

Hamlette

(15,394 posts)
8. thanks for posting this
Mon Jul 30, 2012, 11:57 AM
Jul 2012

I missed the prior articles/mention of this. Seems others were thinking the same as me. And as was mentioned down thread, he is spitting on her grave. Hope someone goes after the "impose my own beliefs" on others.

Freddie

(9,232 posts)
6. No, it's true
Mon Jul 30, 2012, 06:44 AM
Jul 2012

Of all the vile things this man has done and said to get elected, spitting on this woman's grave is the worst IMO. This is something we must publicize *often* during the campaign.

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