On Friday, Mitt Romney suggested that overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion, would move the country towards a place “where there was no abortion.”

“I would love to see an America where there was no abortion. But that’s not where the American people are…What I do want to see, and where I think the American people are today, is to see a conservative jurist on the Supreme Court and to see Roe v. Wade overturned.”

Romney’s naiveté is contradicted by the facts. According to a study released yesterday by The World Health Organization and the Guttmacher Institute, “abortion rates are similar in countries where it is legal and those where it is not, suggesting that outlawing the procedure does little to deter women seeking it.”

Moreover, the researchers found that abortion was safe in countries where it was legal, but dangerous in countries where it was outlawed and performed clandestinely. Globally, abortion accounts for 13 percent of women’s deaths during pregnancy and childbirth, and there are 31 abortions for every 100 live births, the study said.

Rather than reducing the number of abortions, overturning Roe v. Wade would jeopardize women’s lives. Romney had it right in 1994 (”I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country.”) and 2002 (”The choice to have an abortion is a deeply personal one. Women should be free to choose based on their own beliefs, not the government’s.”). Unfortunatley, since he decided to seek the Republican nomination for president, Romney has been willing to place politics ahead of women’s well being.

In fact, by dismissing the science that contradicts his new-found ideology, Romney, like Rudy, is following in the footsteps of our current president.

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