McCain on Roe v. Wade; Romney on Embryonic Stem Cell Research

The Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report reported this week on Senator John McCain's assertion that Roe v. Wade should be overturned, as well as on former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney's views on stem cell research and abortion:

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who has formed an exploratory committee for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, on Sunday at an event in Spartansburg, S.C., said he does not support Roe v. Wade -- the 1973 Supreme Court decision that effectively barred state abortion bans -- and that the decision should be overturned, the AP/International Herald Tribune reports (Davenport, AP/International Herald Tribune, 2/18). McCain also said that if elected president he would appoint judges who "strictly interpret the Constitution of the United States and do not legislate from the bench" (Davenport, AP/Los Angeles Times, 2/20). McCain during a news conference on Monday in Vero Beach, Fla., said claims that he has changed his position on Roe are "false," adding that his position on the case is consistent with his record on abortion-rights issues (Bierschenk, TCPalm, 2/20).

Romney Discusses Embryonic Stem Cell Research Opposition
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R), who is running for the Republican presidential nomination, on Monday in an interview with the Associated Press discussed his opposition to some forms of human embryonic stem cell research, saying that he believes that researchers are able to obtain the "stem cells necessary for research through means that don't represent a serious, moral problem," the AP/San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Romney said he favors research using embryonic stem cell lines currently eligible for federal funding (Jackson, AP/San Diego Union-Tribune, 2/19). . . .

Romney on Sunday in an interview on ABC's "This Week" discussed abortion rights and stem cell research, among other issues (Stephanopoulos, "This Week," ABC, 2/18). Video of the segment is available online. A transcript of the segment also is available online.