Steele Backs Off Remarks on Abortion

By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 12, 2009 12:55 PM CDT
Steele Backs Off Remarks on Abortion
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele.   (AP Photo)

Michael Steele has again stirred up some trouble with his Republican constituency, this time by making an intricate but obtuse argument about his stance on abortion, the Washington Post reports. In an interview with GQ, the RNC chair was asked if he supported a woman’s right to choose. “I think that's an individual choice,” he said, before quickly clarifying. “The states should make that choice.”

“That's what the choice is,” Steele continued. “The individual choice rests in the states. Let them decide.” A letter distributed by the RNC today clarified his position further. “I am pro-life, always have been, always will be,” Steele writes. “I tried to present why I am pro life while recognizing that my mother had a 'choice' before deciding to put me up for adoption. I thank her every day for supporting life.” (More Michael Steele stories.)

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