McCain Surrogate Falsely Suggests McCain Does Not Want To Overturn Roe

Posted by Faiz Shakir, Think Progress at 1:21 PM on August 25, 2008.

In a new ad for John McCain, Debra Bartoshevich, a self-described "proud Hillary Clinton Democrat," announces that she opposes Barack Obama and will vote for John McCain. At a press conference this afternoon, Bartoschevich made this puzzling statement:

Going back to 1999, John McCain did an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle saying that overturning Roe v. Wade would not make any sense, because then women would have to have illegal abortions.

Michael Scherer writes, "Was she going off message? Or are Republicans engaging in some cagey multi-messaging?"

In 1999, McCain did indeed tell reporters that he "would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade." But in recent years, McCain has repeatedly said Roe "should be overturned." Here's what his own campaign website says:

At the Saddleback Forum just a couple of weeks ago, McCain left no doubt about his position: "I have a 25-year pro-life record in the Congress, in the Senate. And as President of the United States, I will be a pro-life president and this presidency will have pro-life policies. That's my commitment, that's my commitment to you."

Update McCain surrogate Carly Fiorina -- who also attended today's press conference with Bartoshevich -- has misrepresented McCain's position on choice in the past. "Newsweek magazine reported, she told women in Columbus, Ohio, that McCain 'has never signed on to efforts to overturn Roe vs. Wade,' the landmark Supreme Court decision confirming the right to abortion."

Faiz Shakir is the Research Director at the Center for American Progress and serves as Editor of ThinkProgress.org and The Progress Report.