In case you missed it, Salon has an excellent piece on the origins of Mitt Romney's old pro-choice stance: it turns out that one of his relatives died from an illegal abortion in 1963.

He alluded to this in a 1994 debate with Ted Kennedy, but Salon finally identifies the woman as Anne Keenan, the sister of Romney's brother-in-law, who died when she was only 21. The article states that Keenan's "grief-stricken parents asked for memorial donations to be made to Planned Parenthood; and that the family apparently wanted to keep the death quiet because Romney's politically ambitious father, George, was then governor of Michigan."

The piece also describes Romney's pro-choice action as a politician:

That year [1994], he even attended a Planned Parenthood fundraiser, and his wife, Ann, gave $150 to the group. And while he used much more muted language, Romney vowed during his successful 2002 campaign for governor of Massachusetts to uphold the state's abortion laws. But in 2005, as he prepared to seek the 2008 GOP presidential nomination, Romney switched gears and announced in a Boston Globe Op-Ed that he was changing his position, describing himself as "prolife" and arguing that states should be able to set their own abortion laws.

Well, at least we know where Romney's backbone went. He left it in 1994. Read the whole thing here.

In the wake of ideological attacks on abortion—like the latest craze, legal personhood status for fetuses—and literal attacks on abortion—like last month's firebombing attack on a Planned Parenthood clinic in McKinney, Texas—I respectfully request the return of Mitt Romney, 1994 model. But perhaps we can take cold comfort in the knowledge that at least his hair is as majestic now as it was then.