New (or nuanced) info on Fred Thompson and abortion

Also from Fred Thompson's profile in the Weekly Standard ("From the Courthouse to the White House") there was a mention of Thompson's views on abortion. It seemed to add some new information to the dialogue, in particular that Thompson claims he wasn't "pro-choice" in '94 and had to think hard about what may have led others to that conclusion:

In the days since Thompson allowed that he was thinking about running for president, his views on abortion have come under scrutiny. Thompson finds the news reports from his first run for Senate perplexing.

"I have read these accounts and tried to think back 13 years ago as to what may have given rise to them. Although I don't remember it, I must have said something to someone as I was getting my campaign started that led to a story. Apparently, another story was based upon that story, and then another was based upon that, concluding I was pro-choice."

But, he adds: "I was interviewed and rated pro-life by the National Right to Life folks in 1994, and I had a 100 percent voting record on abortion issues while in the Senate."

Darla St. Martin, associate executive director of National Right to Life, supports Thompson on those claims. She traveled to Tennessee in 1994 to meet with him. "I interviewed him and on all of the questions I asked him, he opposed abortion," she told the American Spectator's Philip Klein.

Thompson says he thinks Roe v. Wade is bad law and should be overturned, but he says he does not support a Human Life Amendment.

The abortion issue has, shall we say, evolved over the decades. Today there is a middle ground on the issue which allows candidates to claim to be "pro-life" while still believing that abortion is okay under a variety of circumstances. As a pro-lifer, I'm heartened that people want to be perceived as pro-life, but this nuanced stance on the issue is a challenge. Indeed, Thompson's statements in the above interview are not inconsistent with a "straddling" position on abortion in 1994 . . . a position which is now accepted as "pro-life."

UPDATE: Maybe this will refresh Thompson's recollection about his views on abortion in '94. Tip o' the hat to Volunteer Voters (via Braisted).