'Transformed' Perry: No Abortion, Even in Rape, Incest

'God was working on my heart,' he says
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 28, 2011 4:17 AM CST
Rick Perry Has 'Transformation' of Abortion Views
Rick Perry speaks during a campaign stop at the Glenn Miller Museum in Clarinda, Iowa yesterday.   (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Rick Perry's views on abortion have undergone what he calls a "transformation"—just in time for the Iowa caucuses. Perry has decided that he's no longer in favor of allowing abortions in cases of rape, incest, or when the mother's life is at risk, USA Today reports. The candidate says watching the anti-abortion film The Gift of Life, produced by Mike Huckabee, helped to change his mind.

“All I can tell you is God was working on my heart,” said Perry, who, at the film's premiere, met a woman who was conceived in a rape. "She made a statement to me that was really profound and pierced my heart," he said. An Iowa pastor who asked Perry why his views on abortion had changed in recent weeks says he is convinced that the candidate's answer was sincere and not merely an attempt to win over conservative voters. (More abortion debate stories.)

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