Romney's wife donated to Planned Parenthood

As abortion continues to define the Republican presidential primary, Mitt Romney's campaign said Wednesday that Romney's wife, Ann, made a $150 contribution to Planned Parenthood in 1994, the year Romney ran for Senate as a candidate supporting abortion rights.

Romney spokesman Kevin Madden said Ann Romney does not remember whether it was a straight donation to the abortion rights group, which supports abortion rights, or whether she wrote the check as an admission fee for an event.

"Since it was so long ago, Ann has no information of the circumstances," he said.

Madden confirmed the payment in response to a question from the Globe.

He said the check was written from the Romneys' joint checking account, but she signed it and the contribution came from her, Madden said. Mitt Romney has not donated to the organization, Madden said.

A spokesman for the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, Angus McQuilken, declined to comment. "It is our policy not to comment on contributions," he said.

The disclosure of Ann Romney's contribution comes as one of Romney's leading GOP rivals, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, is taking heat from conservatives for having made at least six donations to Planned Parenthood chapters with his wife at the time, Donna Hanover, in the 1990s. Giuliani has often said that although he favors abortion rights, he personally "hates" and "abhors" abortion and would counsel a pregnant woman against it. Giuliani's contributions were first reported by The Politico, a new political news organization.

Giuliani and Romney are facing questions about their records on abortion as they try to win Republican primary voters,

who have generally backed candidates opposing abortion.

Romney favored abortion rights when he ran for Senate and then for governor of Massachusetts in 2002, but he has shifted to an antiabortion position in recent years and now calls himself "firmly pro-life."

Thursday, Romney is scheduled to address a Mother's Day dinner in Agawam sponsored by the Massachusetts Citizens for Life, a group with whom he has a rocky history. The organization criticized Romney while he was governor but became more supportive as Romney shifted to an antiabortion position. Romney recently made a $15,000 contribution to the group.