How the newly 'pro-life' Romney betrayed a 'dear, close family relative'

Say what you will about the ultra-hardline reproductive politics of Todd Akin and Paul Ryan, but at least those two have always been true believers. Mitt Romney, not so much. As his former strategist Michael Murphy put it in 2005, "He's been a pro-life Mormon faking it as a pro-choice friendly." But Romney's public transformation from an "unwavering" supporter of Roe v. Wade into a strong backer of the GOP's all-out assault on women's reproductive rights isn't just rank opportunism. To accomplish that extremist makeover, Mitt Romney had to turn his back on a "dear, close family relative" who died 50 years ago of a then-illegal abortion.

As Salon's Justin Elliott documented last year in "The Abortion That Mitt Doesn't Talk About Anymore," it was his own family story which informed his pro-choice position during his 1994 Senate run against Ted Kennedy. When Kennedy labeled him "Multiple Choice Mitt," during their debate, Romney responded with a tale of personal loss:

"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."

To further establish his pro-choice bona fides, Mitt put his wife's money where his mouth was. During the '94 campaign, he and Ann attended a Planned Parenthood event, where she wrote a check for $150 to the organization. (Later seeking the GOP presidential nomination, Gov. Romney claimed he had "no recollection" of the gathering. As far as Ann's contribution was concerned, Mitt explained that "her positions are not terribly relevant for my campaign.")

Ann Romney, who Mitt now boasts "reports to me regularly" on what American women care about, will be headlining next week's Republican National Convention in Tampa, during his 2002 race for governor of Massachusetts had a different role. Back then, Romney enlisted her to reassure the pro-choice Bay State voters that he was on their side:

ANN ROMNEY: I think women also recognize that they want someone who is going to manage the state well. I think they may be more nervous about him on social issues. They shouldn't be, because he's going to be just fine. But the perception is that he won't be. That's an incorrect perception.

MITT ROMNEY: So when asked will I preserve and protect a woman's right to choose, I make an unequivocal answer: yes.

But when Mitt Romney started running for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, he not had to execute a 180 degree turn for the GOP's conservative primary voters. As this 2007 exchange with the late Tim Russert, he had to convince his party's evangelical base that what happens in Boston stays in Boston. And that included desecrating the memory of Ann Keenan, the sister of Romney's brother-in-law who died at the age of 21 in 1963 after a botched, illegal abortion.

RUSSERT: You talked about your family relative who died from an illegal abortion, and yet President Romney is saying is saying ban all abortion. And what would be the legal consequences to people who participated in that procedure?... So back to your relative.

ROMNEY: Mm-hmm.

Romney went on to explain the consequences (loss of license and possible prison time for doctors, though not patients) of his new found anti-abortion views. But he never did get back to his relative. And as he accidentally revealed to Russert, in retrospect her death was merely "theoretical".

(Continue reading below the fold.)