Two of the nation's leading anti-abortion-rights groups rallied behind Mitt Romney on Thursday following the exit of Rick Santorum from the presidential race.
The Susan B. Anthony (SBA) List and the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) both endorsed Romney's candidacy, burnishing the former governor's credentials with conservatives. SBA had previously endorsed Santorum, while the NRLC had taken a wait-and-see approach out of fear of weakening the eventual nominee.
Romney supported abortion rights during his 2002 campaign for governor, but has worked to convince Republicans he had a genuine change of heart in 2004.
"Now is the time to unite behind Gov. Romney in order to defeat the most ideologically pro-abortion president in our nation's history," SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser said in a statement announcing her board's unanimous decision to get behind Romney. "The SBA List is proud to endorse Gov. Romney and plans to spend $10 [million] to $12 million in Senate and presidential battleground states mobilizing pro-life voters to ensure victory."
Dannenfelser went on to cite several of Romney's pledges: to defund Planned Parenthood, restore the ban on federal funding for nonprofit groups that perform or promote abortion, support legislation to ban abortions after 20 weeks, appoint conservative judges to the federal bench and select an anti-abortion-rights vice president.
The National Right to Life Committee also endorsed Romney at a press conference Thursday morning, citing the healthcare reform law — which Romney has vowed to repeal — as opening the door to taxpayer funding for abortion and "rationing of life-saving medical care." Democrats dispute both those charges.
"On pro-life issues, Mitt Romney and Barack Obama provide a stark contrast," National Right to Life President Carol Tobias said Thursday. "As the country's most pro-abortion president, Barack Obama has pursued a radical pro-abortion agenda. It is now time for pro-life Americans to unite behind Mitt Romney. For the sake of unborn children, the disabled and the elderly, we must win."
Pro-abortion rights groups argued the endorsements would only help build support for Obama among women in battleground states.
"So much for the idea that Romney will try to move to the middle in the general election," NARAL Pro-Choice America President Nancy Keenan said in a statement. "If he thought he had problems with women voters before, today's news only makes it worse."
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