http://www.nationaljournal.com/2012-presidential-campaign/romney-s-evolution-on-women-how-deep-does-it-go--20120202
"--In 1983, a congregant and former Romney babysitter named Peggie Hayes became pregnant. She was 23 and divorced. Romney visited her at home and urged her to give up her unborn child for adoption. The book says Romney threatened Hayes with excommunication from the church if she didn’t comply. Romney has denied that he ever threatened Hayes, but Hayes said his message was crystal clear: “Give up your son or give up God.” Soon after the birth of her son, Hayes left the Mormon church. --In 1990, the feminist Mormon journal Exponent II published an unsigned essay by a married woman who some years earlier faced an unplanned sixth pregnancy and was told that she had a serious blood clot in her pelvis. She said she was told her life was at some risk and the baby had a 50 percent chance of survival. Romney, her bishop, advised her not to have an abortion and did not believe that her stake president, a doctor, had recommended she have one. She described his attitude at her time of need as one of “judgment, criticism, prejudicial advice, and rejection.” Romney has said he doesn’t recall the incident. During the same period, Romney had a string of run-ins with Exponent II. Helen Claire Sievers, a member of Exponent II, recalled teaching a women’s church-group workshop on domestic abuse. “I was very surprised at the number of women who told me stories of spousal abuse,” Sievers told National Journal. She advised Romney to warn his bishops that this was widespread through the stake but “he was pretty sure it wasn’t happening.” The article goes on to say that he has "evolved and matured" since then (I guess it's never too late since he's in his 60s). How evolved and mature is he likely to remain once he gets what he wants? |
I dislike the man for a bunch of reasons, but I do get concerned with holding a candidate's distant past against him. People can change. I campaigned for Reagan's reelection in 84, was completely against gay marriage in 94 (work issue for me at the time), but now consider myself a flaming socialist.
What has Romney done in the past 5-10 years? However, even then he's been a total flip flopper. |