CBS News: Perry toughens anti-abortion stance (Video)
In a move that cements his stature on the Republican Party’s conservative wing, Texas Gov. Rick Perry confirmed to a pastor on Tuesday that he no longer supports abortion in any cases, including rape.
“You’re seeing a transformation,” Perry told Joshua Verwers, the pastor of the Full Faith Christian Center, at an event in nearby Chariton, Iowa. The event was part of the governor’s ongoing effort to demonstrate his appeal to the Hawkeye State’s Christian conservatives.
What brought about the change? Perry said he was moved by a woman he met who appeared in former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s movie, “The Gift of Life,” which he screened in Des Moines on Dec. 14. The woman has been conceived during a rape, and Perry said she told him, “My life has worth.” He described the moment as “powerful.” The next day, he signed the Personhood USA pledge.
Perry specifically said the film made him rethink the exceptions for rape and incest, though in his conversation with Verwers he did not mention the life of the mother, the traditional third exception that many who oppose abortion will allow.