WASHINGTON (AP) — A day after a magazine quoted him as saying abortion was "an individual choice," GOP Chairman Michael Steele said Thursday he opposes abortion and that Roe v. Wade should be overturned. Steele, who was adopted, told GQ magazine that his mother had the option of getting an abortion or giving birth to him.
"The choice issue cuts two ways," Steele said in the wide-ranging interview published online Wednesday. "You can choose life, or you can choose abortion. You know, my mother chose life."
Asked whether he thought women had the right to choose abortion, Steele said: "Yeah. I mean, again, I think that's an individual choice."
On Thursday morning, Steele attempted to clarify his remarks in a statement.
"I am pro-life, always have been, always will be," he said. "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."
Both in the interview and in his statement, Steele said he believed Roe v. Wade was "wrongly decided." He said the Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion should be overturned and the decision left to the states.
Steele, a Catholic and former Maryland lieutenant governor, was elected chairman of the National Republican Committee nearly six weeks ago. Since then, his off-the-cuff style and criticism of fellow Republicans have made him a figure of controversy within the national GOP, though state party leaders have said they support him.
Steele said in his statement that he realizes there are some Republicans who disagree with him on abortion. In the interview, he said abortion-rights supporters have a place in the party.
The Republican platform asserts the GOP's opposition to abortion, saying that "the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed."
In his statement, Steele said he supports the platform. "The Republican Party is and will continue to be the party of life," he said.
___
