Charles Manning, a political consultant working for the [Romney] campaign, said Romney has accepted the endorsement. But he stressed that the endorsement contained several inaccurate statements about Romney's position on abortion, perhaps because Romney never met with the group or answered its questionnaires.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's campaign pounced on the endorsement as proof that Romney is not really an abortion rights supporter. "Mitt Romney is not pro-choice, and Mass Citizens' endorsement proves unequivocally that Mitt Romney does not support a woman's right to choose and Mitt Romney will never support a woman's right to choose," said Rick Gureghian, Kennedy's campaign spokesman.

Asked how Kennedy and Romney differ on the abortion issue, Manning said, "It's tiny nuances." For example, he said Romney favors parental consent laws while Kennedy opposes them.