Partons Vite

Mitt Romney on Tuesday said he would not pursue any abortion-related legislation if elected president.

“There’s no legislation with regards to abortion that I’m familiar with that would become part of my agenda,” the Republican nominee told the Des Moines Register in an interview posted on the Iowa newspaper’s website.

The former Massachusetts governor said he would instead use an executive order to reinstate the so-called Mexico City policy that bans American aid from funding abortions. President Barack Obama waived the order soon after taking office.

Romney’s statement to the newspaper represents an apparent shift on a topic Obama’s campaign has tried to use against him, particularly with female voters. Soon after the comments were posted on the Register’s website, the president’s campaign pounced.

“We know the truth about where he stands on a woman’s right to choose: He’s said he’d be delighted to sign a bill banning all abortions, and called Roe v. Wade `one of the darkest moments in Supreme Court history,’ while pledging to appoint Supreme Court justices who will overturn it. Women simply can’t trust him,” Obama spokeswoman Lis Smith said.