Absent Romney Takes Heat At Pro-Life Forum Wednesday

Despite a crowd as conservative-friendly as the one at the Hilton in Greenville on Wednesday, it was the GOP frontrunner in the polls who got the harshest words during the Personhood USA Presidential Pro-Life Forum. 

Mitt Romney, who has long battled against accusations of disingenuousness about his change of heart over the issue of abortion, was the only Republican candidate who did not speak at the function. Ron Paul participated from Washington, D.C., via satellite. 

From the outset, Romney's absence seemed to have left challengers an easy window to attack. When prompted to contrast his stance on life and abortion with Romney's, Texas Gov. Rick Perry openly questioned how genuine Romney's conversion to the pro-life worldview was. 

"Gov. Romney has been on both sides of the issue of life," Perry said. 

Perry specifically questioned how Romney could have waited into his 50's to change his stance on such a foundational issue for conservatives. 

"How do you change your position on the issue of — you're pro-abortion and you change over to pro-life — in your 50's?" Perry said. 

"It is clear to most of us that this was a choice for convenience. This was a decision that Gov. Romney made for a political convenience," Perry added. 

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich didn't waste any opportunities, either, blasting Romney on multiple fronts related to the issue of life. 

"Gov. Romney also after becoming pro-life, passed Romneycare with tax-paid abortion, wrote Planned Parenthood into Romneycare but no right to life group," Gingrich said. "His administration approved paying for an abortion clinic for Planneed Parenthood with state funds and he appointed pro-abortion and pro-gay marriage judges to the court."

But Rick Santorum chose to speak from personal experience on the issue of the value of life, referencing his three-year-old daughter's serious genetic disorder. 

"Every child has dignity and value," Santorum said. "I'm the blessed father of a special needs child, which is the greatest gift I've been given in my life."

"I don't believe life begins at conception," Santorum said. "I know that life begins at conception."