All it took was one documentary and the upcoming caucuses for the dwindling Republican hopeful to say the procedure isn't justifiable in rape, incest, or the pregnancy is a danger to the mother's life. Perry, who'd previously been on the fence, was inspired by a second viewing of anti-abortion flick The Gift of Life, he told Iowans yesterday (video here) that "You’re seeing a transformation," on the last leg of his Iowa bus trip yesterday. The Los Angeles Times' James Oliphant that points out the convenient timing: 

With a week to go until the Jan. 3 caucuses, Perry is trying to court the social conservatives here who have yet to coalesce around a single candidate as they did for Mike Huckabee four years ago. And Perry has watched as Rick Santorum, an unyielding opponent of abortion rights, has picked up endorsements in the last week from key evangelical leaders in the state.

Of course some of the wrinkles of Perry's pro-life stance (he holds the record for the number of executions by a governor) combined with Tuesday's "transformation" may induce head-scratching to some, but it seems like his recent "no exceptions" shift-in-policy went over well, whether it was influenced by the caucuses or not. The pastor who asked him the question seemed convinced. "It was the perfect answer," the pastor told the Los Angeles Times, who noted that he had been concerned that the Texan was attempting to pander to evangelical voters.

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at aabadsantos at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.
Alexander Abad-Santos