Mitt Romney recently slammed the morning-after pill as an "abortive pill," but the Republican presidential candidate will be hobnobbing with its manufacturer while fundraising in Miami Beach next week.
As first pointed out by Think Progress, the host of Romney's $50,000-a-plate Star Island fundraiser on May 16 is local philanthropist and science museum benefactor Dr. Phillip Frost, who as chairman of the board of Teva Pharmaceuticals oversees the production of emergency contraceptive Plan B One Step.
Though scientists and long-standing federal policy agree morning-after pills like Plan B can't terminate a pregnancy once it has begun, Romney denounced the drug as "abortive" in Colorado February 6 while criticizing the Obama administration's healthcare plan, according to ABC News:
“This same administration said that the churches and the institutions they run, such as schools and let’s say adoption agencies, hospitals, that they have to provide for their employees free of charge, contraceptives, morning after pills, in other words abortive pills, and the like at no cost,” Romney said. “Think what that does to people in faiths that do not share those views. This is a violation of conscience."
As governor of Massachusetts, Romney futilely vetoed a bill that made the morning-after pill available over the counter to rape victims, announcing in the Boston Globe in 2005, "I am pro-life."
But Think Progress also points out that Romney has financial investments in 5 other companies that sell emergency contraception and/or birth control, and campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul did not respond to a Bloomberg request for comment on how Romney could accept support from a host who profits from Plan B.
According to Teva, Dr. Frost has served on the company's board since shortly after it acquired his own firm Ivax in 2005 for $7.6 billion; Forbes reported in 2010 that he held more than $850 million in shares of Teva stock.
The Miami Herald reports Romney hopes to raise $5 to $8 million on his Florida fundraising tour.
WATCH: Study shows 20 percent of pharmacies incorrectly deny the morning after pill to patients: