Mitt Romney bristled when pressed on a hypothetical question of whether he would support a state banning contraception.
The former Massachusetts governor was asked by moderators at an ABC News/Yahoo! debate about the scenario, given that fellow GOP candidate Rick Santorum asserted a state had such a right. But Romney was reluctant to bite.
"I don't know if a state has a right to ban contraception. No state wants to!" he told moderator George Stephanopolous, who posed the question.
Romney called it an "unusual question" and that he couldn't imagine a state pursuing such a policy, adding that he would not support it as a governor. But when pressed on whether the Constitution prohibited such a ban under a right to privacy, Romney offered up a quip.
"We could ask our Constitutionalist here," he said while pointing to Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), garnering laughs from the audience.
Romney closed the exchange with a broad dismissal of the topic.
"Contraception, it's working just fine. Leave it alone," he said.
