Romney Campaign Press Release - David French: "Mitt Romney Defended Rights of Conscience in Massachusetts"

"In the conscience arena, he not only vetoed the EC law and took to the pages of the Globe to explain his reasoning, he supported Catholic Charities' resistance to placing children with same-sex couples, and even filed 'An Act Protecting Religious Freedom' to protect the rights of conscience of Catholic Charities and other religious organizations in Massachusetts. In fact, many of these actions are what convinced me to become an 'evangelical for Mitt.'" — David French

"Mitt Romney Defended Rights Of Conscience In Massachusetts"

National Review

By David French

February 3, 2012

www.nationalreview.com

Yesterday a number of people forwarded me this op-ed from Terry Jeffrey of CNS News, claiming that, as governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney "decided Catholic hospitals would be required under his interpretation of a new state law to give rape victims a drug that can induce abortions." The claim is salient in part because of the Obama administration's looming requirement that even religious institutions must soon offer coverage for contraception (including potentially abortifacient emergency contraceptions) — a requirement that will soon trigger a number of legal challenges and is set to become a key issue in the 2012 presidential race.

Mr. Jeffrey's thesis lies in the twists and turns of Governor Romney's battle with his own legislature over expanded access to "Plan B" emergency contraception ("EC"), drugs that can prevent pregnancy after rape but can also potentially act as abortifacients by preventing a fertilized egg from implanting. The legislature passed legislation mandating that hospitals — including the state's Catholic hospitals — administer EC. Governor Romney vetoed that legislation and the next day took to the pages of the Boston Globe to explain his pro-life stance:

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But if Mitt Romney wasn't a "true leader" on pro-life issues while governor, why did such Massachusetts pro-life stalwarts as Mary Ann Glendon and Joseph Reilly publicly declare their appreciation for his efforts in Massachusetts, and why did Massachusetts Citizens for Life give Mitt its "political leadership" award? Perhaps because they know he did all he reasonably could.

Or perhaps they also know the story did not end where Mr. Jeffrey ended his column. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health did in fact draft regulations implementing the EC law, and those regulations contain a few key words and phrases. First, they require hospitals to "offer" EC "if medically indicated" and to dispense EC "unless medically contraindicated."

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There are parallels between this argument over pro-life tactics and the argument over Mitt Romney's response to the Massachusetts Supreme Court's same-sex marriage ruling. In both cases some activists demanded a grand gesture, but Mitt responded by fighting the fights he could win: enforcing a little-known, almost century-old law prohibiting out-of-state marriages if the marriage wouldn't be legal in the couple's home state, supporting a state marriage amendment, and even filing a lawsuit to force the legislature to act on the amendment.

In the conscience arena, he not only vetoed the EC law and took to the pages of the Globe to explain his reasoning, he supported Catholic Charities' resistance to placing children with same-sex couples, and even filed "An Act Protecting Religious Freedom" to protect the rights of conscience of Catholic Charities and other religious organizations in Massachusetts. In fact, many of these actions are what convinced me to become an "evangelical for Mitt."

Today (as already covered on NRO), Governor Romney issued an unequivocal pledge to reverse the Obama administration's assault on religious liberty:

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I have no doubt it's a promise he'll keep.