December 28, 2011 in Nation/World

Perry ups stance against abortion

Candidate says it’s wrong under all circumstances
James Oliphant Tribune Washington bureau
 
Associated Press photo

Republican presidential candidate Texas Gov. Rick Perry answers questions during a campaign stop at the Glenn Miller Museum in Clarinda, Iowa, on Tuesday.
(Full-size photo)

Perry seeks spot on Virginia ballot

 Republican Rick Perry is challenging his exclusion from Virginia’s primary ballot.

 The Texas governor’s presidential campaign filed a lawsuit Tuesday in federal court in Virginia in an attempt to get his name on Virginia’s March 6 primary ballot.

 Perry failed to collect the required 10,000 signatures.

 At present, Mitt Romney and Ron Paul are the only GOP presidential candidates who have qualified for Virginia’s ballot. Newt Gingrich also failed to gather enough signatures.

Associated Press

OSCEOLA, Iowa – Rick Perry, in the midst of a furious late-stage effort to finish strongly in next week’s GOP Iowa caucuses, said at a town-hall-style campaign event that his views on abortion have shifted and that he no longer believes the procedure is acceptable in any circumstances.

Assuredly, the Texas governor has never been a moderate on the issue. But until recently, he had said an abortion might be justifiable in cases of rape or incest or if the mother’s life was in danger.

Tuesday, at the last leg of a four-stop bus trip across southwestern Iowa, Perry was asked a question by a local pastor about his abortion views, noting that the candidate had recently signed a pledge to oppose abortion in every situation and asking whether Perry had changed his mind.

Perry replied that he had. “You’re seeing a transformation,” he said. Recently watching an anti-abortion film had persuaded him to alter his view, he said.

The transformation comes at an opportune time. With a week to go until the Jan. 3 caucuses, Perry is trying to court the social conservatives here who have yet to coalesce around a single candidate as they did for Mike Huckabee four years ago. And Perry has watched as Rick Santorum, an unyielding opponent of abortion rights, has picked up endorsements in the last week from key evangelical leaders.

But the pastor who asked Perry the question, Joshua Verwers, said he believed Perry was sincere. “It was the perfect answer,” said Verwers, who said he had been concerned that the Texas governor was attempting to pander to evangelical voters.

Perry watched the DVD “The Gift of Life” on his campaign bus last week, aides said. The film, which features Huckabee and profiles those who say they were nearly aborted by their mothers, was produced by David Bossie, the conservative activist behind the Citizens United challenge before the Supreme Court that changed the landscape of campaign finance law.

Recent stories in Nation/World
Three comments on this story so far. Add yours!

  • Diana on December 28 at 6:39 a.m.

    So a male Republican politician, Rick Perry, has had a transformation. Isn’t that special? He’s gone full-bagger for fathers’ rights - rapists and incestuous fathers who impregnate their daughters.

    I’ll agree with him when he is forced to bear the progeny of his rapist. In the meantime, I’ll suggest that if he doesn’t want an abortion, he definitely shouldn’t have one.

  • misjustice on December 28 at 7:59 a.m.

    Rick Perry = Texass Toast

  • SugarShane on December 28 at 10:48 a.m.

    Funny with so much going on in the world and all the technological advancement, things still come down to abortion and gays and marijuana, and little bits of jobs and economy. Glad they are staying on task with whats really important; telling people what is ok and acceptable for them to do in their own personal lives all while the bleating teabaggers cry no government intrusion into my life, just everyone else.

You must be logged in to post comments.
Please create a profile or log in here.