“We know that the real Mitt Romney will say anything to win… he is cynically hiding his positions,” said Obama’s deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter.
Romney later suggested his statements were not contradictory because he would use the presidency’s executive powers – instead of writing a bill – to halt government funds for foreign organizations that promote abortion.
“I’m a pro-life candidate. I’ll be a pro-life president,” he said.
The Obama camp sees the abortion comments as a way to dent Romney’s standing among women voters. Several polls show he improved among the crucial demographic after last week’s first of a trio of debates with Obama.
Presidential candidates frequently tack to the political center to appeal to moderate voters once they have solidified support in their own party base.
But Romney spent months struggling to reassure his conservative base in a hard-fought primary and only truly began moderating his positions – on taxing the rich, immigration and health care – during last week’s debate in Denver.
Recent polls show an unsettled race, with some national polls – like Gallup’s daily tracking survey which had Romney and Obama tied at 48 percent – suggested Romney’s debate bounce was subsiding.
A Fox News poll had Romney up a single point. Obama had led the same poll by five points before the debate.
There was also movement towards Romney in state surveys that had the race in battlegrounds like Nevada, Florida, Nevada and Ohio within a few points.
The debate at Kentucky’s Centre College will be moderated by ABC News foreign correspondent Martha Raddatz and will begin at 9:00 pm EST (0100 GMT Friday).
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