Thompson Disavows Pro-Choice Lobbying

The Fred Thompson camp vehemently denied a claim today by an abortion-rights advocacy group that he worked as a lobbyist for them in 1991, the Los Angeles Times reports. The  group claims Thompson contacted White House officials as part of an attempt to ease restrictions on abortion counseling at federally funded clinics. 

The National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Assn. produced minutes of a meeting reflecting his hiring, and a current Democratic representative, Michael Barnes, who was a colleague of Thompson's at the lobbying firm at the time, recalled discussing the work with him, calling the denial "absolutely bizarre."  The pro-life Thompson is expected to announce his candidacy this month. (More Fred Thompson stories.)