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The leading antiabortion group in Massachusetts has endorsed Republican Mitt Romney for US senator even though Romney portrays himself as a strong supporter of abortion rights.

Massachusetts Citizens for Life said in its September newsletter that although Romney "is not 100 percent pro-life, {he} is 100 percent better than our senior senator."

The endorsement was signed by Philip D. Moran, chairman of the group's federal political action committee, who could not be reached for comment. The endorsement was apparently made last week but the Romney campaign did not acknowledge receiving it until last night, when reporters began calling asking for comment.

Charles Manning, a political consultant working for the Romney campaign, said Romney has accepted the endorsement. But he stressed that the endorsement contained several inaccurate statements about Romney's position on abortion, perhaps because Romney never met with the group or answered its questionnaires.

For example, the endorsement says Romney would vote against any health care proposal that includes abortion and opposes a federal abortion rights bill and federal funding of abortions. It also notes he favors parental consent for teen-agers seeking abortions.

Manning said Citizens for Life characterized Romney's position correctly only on the parental consent issue. Manning said Romney believes health care plans should be structured to leave it up to consumers whether to seek abortion coverage.

Manning said Romney does support the so-called Freedom of Choice Act as long as it just codifies the US Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision, but believes federal funding of abortions should not be mandated.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's campaign pounced on the endorsement as proof that Romney is not really an abortion rights supporter. "Mitt Romney is not pro-choice, and Mass Citizens' endorsement proves unequivocally that Mitt Romney does not support a woman's right to choose and Mitt Romney will never support a woman's right to choose," said Rick Gureghian, Kennedy's campaign spokesman.

Citing a 1971 letter written by Kennedy, Manning responded, "I think the reason they don't trust Ted Kennedy is that he flip-flopped on abortion. He was pro-life before Roe v. Wade and now he's changed. Mitt has always been consistent in his pro-choice position and that's why the group respects him."

John Alvis, campaign manager for Romney's Republican rival John Lakian, said Romney is "trying to have it both ways and I don't think the women of Massachusetts are going to let him get away with it."

The endorsement said Kennedy "is perhaps the worst person in the US Senate from a pro-life point of view" and described Lakian as unelectable.

The endorsement goes on to say that Romney "is light years better on the pro-life issues than the incumbent and although we would prefer a 100 percent pro-life candidate, in the real world we don't have one. However, based on Sen. Kennedy's record as a pro-abortion leader, a vote for Mitt Romney is the logical vote for those who value human life."

Asked how Kennedy and Romney differ on the abortion issue, Manning said, "It's tiny nuances." For example, he said Romney favors parental consent laws while Kennedy opposes them.