Romney endorsed by anti-abortion groups

WASHINGTON, April 12 (UPI) -- Two anti-abortion groups, the Susan B. Anthony List and the National Right to Life Committee, Thursday endorsed Republican presidential hopeful Mitt 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," SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser said in a statement.

The group's board unanimously endorsed Romney, and the statement called President Obama "the most ideologically pro-abortion president in our nation's history."

The National Right to Life Committee said at a news conference it endorsed Romney because of his campaign promise to repeal the healthcare reform law, which it said would permit taxpayer funding for abortion and "rationing of life-saving medical care." Democrats have said both those charges are plain wrong, The Hill reported.

"On pro-life issues, Mitt Romney and Barack Obama provide a stark contrast," said National Right to Life President Carol Tobias.

Abortion-rights advocates agreed with that assessment -- even though the Republican supported abortion rights when he ran for Massachusetts governor in 2002 and changed his mind in 2004. The SBA List had previously endorsed former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, who suspended his presidential campaign Tuesday.

NARAL Pro-Choice America President Nancy Keenan said in a statement "if he (Romney) thought he had problems with women voters before, today's news only makes it worse."