Beginning earlier this year, as [Mitt Romney] began testing his own viability as a presidential candidate, Romney appears to have made an effort to emphasize his personal opposition to abortion.

To some extent, the longstanding confusion over Romney's abortion policies has been created not by Romney, but by his political handlers. In 1994, Romney's US Senate campaign spokesman, Charles Manning, told reporters that "tiny nuances" separated Romney and Kennedy on the topic of abortion.

In the 2002 gubernatorial campaign, Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom told reporters that Romney's position on abortion was "exactly the same position as any other prochoice politician." Romney's running mate, Kerry Healey, buttressed that idea by saying, "There isn't a dime of difference between Mitt Romney's position on choice and Shannon O'Brien," who was an outspoken advocate for abortion rights.