WASHINGTON, March 12 (UPI) -- Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele has clarified his remarks in a U.S. magazine that some said showed he believes in abortion rights.
In an interview with GQ, the Republican leader called abortion an "individual choice," ABC News reported.
"The choice issue cuts two ways. You can choose life, or you can choose abortion. You know, my mother chose life. So, you know, I think the power of the argument of choice boils down to stating a case for one or
the other," Steele was quoted by GQ as saying.
On Thursday, with the GQ story getting a lot of media attention on TV news shows, Steele said he is anti-abortion, ABC News said.
Steele, a former lieutenant governor of Maryland, said it is his belief that the U.S. Supreme Court should repeal Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 decision that effectively legalized abortion in the United States.
"The Republican Party is and will continue to be the party of life," he said.
Steele was involved in a similar fracas a few weeks ago when he criticized conservative radio talker Rush Limbaugh.
Many conservatives remained angry at Steele, The Boston Globe reported.
"For Chairman Steele to even infer that taking a life is totally left up to the individual is not only a reversal of Republican policy and principle, but it's a violation of the most basic of human rights," former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said in his blog.
Dr. Ada Fisher, a member of the national committee from North Carolina, suggested that Steele should resign.
"There are many people who want to see Mr. Steele out of here," she said.
