George W. Bush to embrace it. In 2007, Romney supported the use of stem cells obtained from "surplus embryos" for research, but opposed "the creation of new lines of human stem cells for research and vetoed a stem cell research bill as governor." During Romney's 2008 presidential campaign, he renounced his prior position and said that he agreed with Bush's decision to ban federal funding for research on excess embryos. He said that his views had been drastically altered in 2004 after discussing stem cell research with Douglas Melton, a stem cell researcher at Harvard University. The Harvard Stem Cell Institute was planning research that would have involved therapeutic cloning.Karen Tumulty, "What Romney believes" Time. May 10, 2007. According to Romney, Melton declared that the research "is not a moral issue because we kill the embryos at 14 days." "I looked over at Beth Myers, my chief of staff, and we both had exactly the same reaction, which is it just hit us hard," recalled Romney. "And as they walked out, I said, 'Beth, we have cheapened the sanctity of life by virtue of the Roe v. Wade mentality.'" During his 2012 presidential campaign, Romney opposed research using cloned embryos created by implanting human DNA into donated eggs. Contraception During the 2012 presidential primary campaign, when asked by a debate moderator whether he believed states have the authority to ban contraception, Romney replied, "I would totally and completely oppose any effort to ban contraception." Romney opposes a rule issued by the Obama Administration's Department of Health and Human Services, in its implementation of the Affordable Care Act, which requires that nearly all health insurance plans offer free contraceptive services as part of preventive care for women. Health plans sponsored by religious employers (such as churches) that are non-profit organizations primarily employing and serving members of their own faith are exempt; but the rule does apply to institutions such as church-affiliated hospitals and schools that do not primarily employ and serve members of the faith. Romney supported a legislative measure (the Blunt amendment) that would have allowed employers and health insurance companies to deny coverage for contraceptives and other services that they object to on religious or moral grounds; the amendment failed passage in the Senate. Romney subsequently said that if elected president, he would rescind the contraception coverage requirement. During the second presidential campaign debate with President Barack Obama in