WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry’s new opposition to abortion in almost any situation may appease conservatives in Iowa, but it moved his views further from those of a sexual abuse organization supported by his wife, Anita.

During an emotional appearance this week while campaigning for the January 3 Iowa caucuses that kick off the presidential nominating process, the Texas governor said he had undergone a “transformation” in his views toward abortion.

At a town hall meeting in Osceola, Iowa, Perry, an evangelical Christian who has made his faith a centerpiece of his White House bid, was asked by a local pastor about abortion.

Perry, who previously had opposed abortion except in cases of rape or incest, said he had a change of heart after watching a movie made by 2008 Iowa Republican caucus winner Mike Huckabee called “The Gift of Life.”

“I really started giving some thought about the issue of rape and incest,” Perry said.

He said one of the moments that changed his mind was while talking to Rebecca Kissling, a woman shown in the movie.

“She said to me, ‘I am the product of rape,’ and she said, ‘My life is worthy.’ It was a powerful moment,” Perry said, his voice breaking slightly as the crowd applauded.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry’s new opposition to abortion in almost any situation may appease conservatives in Iowa, but it moved his views further from those of a sexual abuse organization supported by his wife, Anita.

During an emotional appearance this week while campaigning for the January 3 Iowa caucuses that kick off the presidential nominating process, the Texas governor said he had undergone a “transformation” in his views toward abortion.

At a town hall meeting in Osceola, Iowa, Perry, an evangelical Christian who has made his faith a centerpiece of his White House bid, was asked by a local pastor about abortion.

Perry, who previously had opposed abortion except in cases of rape or incest, said he had a change of heart after watching a movie made by 2008 Iowa Republican caucus winner Mike Huckabee called “The Gift of Life.”

“I really started giving some thought about the issue of rape and incest,” Perry said.

He said one of the moments that changed his mind was while talking to Rebecca Kissling, a woman shown in the movie.

“She said to me, ‘I am the product of rape,’ and she said, ‘My life is worthy.’ It was a powerful moment,” Perry said, his voice breaking slightly as the crowd applauded.

DES MOINES, Dec 17 (Reuters) – The main newspaper in Iowa, the Des Moines Register, on Saturday endorsed Mitt Romney in the Republican presidential race, less than three weeks before the state holds the first nominating contest for the 2012 election on Jan. 3.

The newspaper said Romney stands out in the field of Republican candidates who are trying to become their party’s nominee who will attempt to stop Democratic President Barack Obama’s re-election bid.

“Mitt Romney is making his second bid for Iowans’ support after an unsuccessful run in 2008,” the newspaper said on its website in an editorial that will run in Sunday’s newspapers.

“We did not endorse him then, but this is a different field, and he has matured as a candidate. Rebuilding the economy is the nation’s top priority, and Romney makes the best case among the Republicans that he could do that.”

In an editorial entitled “Mitt Romney is the best to lead” the newspaper said the former Massachusett governor possessed the qualities of wisdom, sobriety and judgment.

“Those are qualities Mitt Romney said he looks for in a leader. Those are qualities Romney himself has demonstrated in his career in business, public service and government,” the editorial said. “Those qualities help the former Massachusetts governor stand out as the most qualified Republican candidate competing in the Iowa caucuses.”

Viewed early on as the likely front-runner, Romney has played second fiddle in popularity to several of the other Republican candidates.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (Reuters) – Front-runner Newt Gingrich came under sharp attack from rival Republican presidential candidates on Thursday at the last debate before Iowa launches the U.S. 2012 election season.

Gingrich is in a tight race with Ron Paul and Mitt Romney in Iowa less than three weeks before the state’s Republicans decide on January 3 who they want as their presidential candidate. It is anybody’s guess at this stage as to who will win.

At a Sioux City debate, Gingrich’s rivals quickly pounced on his receiving up to $1.6 million in payments from troubled mortgage giant Freddie Mac as evidence that he has profited as a Washington insider from an enterprise that was at the heart of America’s housing crisis.

Michele Bachmann, hoping Iowa’s evangelical conservatives will give her a surprise victory in Iowa, said she was shocked that Gingrich was being considered as a potential Republican presidential nominee after acting as a “lobbyist” for Freddie Mac.

“We can’t have as our nominee for the Republican Party someone who continues to stand for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. They need to be shut down, not built up,” Bachmann said. Gingrich fired back that Bachmann’s charge was “simply not true,” that he was not a lobbyist for Freddie Mae, and insisted, “I did no lobbying of any kind for any organization.”

Gingrich, who has emerged as the lead conservative alternative to the more moderate Romney, compared himself to the Republicans’ iconic President Ronald Reagan. He scoffed at his rivals’ attacks on him as “kind of laughable.”

“I think people have to watch my career and decide,” said Gingrich, ticking off a conservative record he said he built up as House speaker in the 1990s.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (Reuters) – Ann Romney on Wednesday urged Iowans to vote for her husband Mitt to be the Republican U.S. presidential nominee, painting an emotional picture of her high school sweetheart who she says has strong values and can be counted on in a crisis.

Ann Romney, dispatched to Iowa with less than three weeks to go before the first Republican nominating contest on January 3, addressed about 50 people packed into the living room of a house in this city bordering Nebraska.

After admitting she had vowed in front of a video camera to never again go through a presidential race after Romney’s failed 2008 effort against John McCain, Ann Romney said she had a change of heart and this time encouraged him to run.

“I feel the country is heading in the wrong direction,” said Ann Romney. “I am here to convince you that Mitt is the only one who can turn around this country.

Standing alongside a towering, elaborately decorated Christmas tree and in front of a nativity scene displayed on the fireplace, Ann Romney was clearly trying to offer up the side of her husband that most people do not get to know.

She told of how he had supported her when she found out she had multiple sclerosis, and how he helped get her out of what she called a “deep dark hole” after her diagnosis.

“Not only do I have the absolute conviction that he would be a fantastic president. But I also know that he would have the character and the integrity.”