Ted Kennedy pro-life?

The following would appear to be a statement written by a typical pro-lifer:

While the deep concern of a woman bearing an unwanted child merits consideration and sympathy, it is my personal feeling that the legalization of abortion on demand is not in accordance with the value which our civilization places on human life. Wanted or unwanted, I believe that human life, even at its earliest stages, has certain rights which must be recognized—the right to be born, the right to love, the right to grow old.

Could Senator Edward M. Kennedy really have written these words to a constituent some three decades ago? So reports William McGurn. One wonders what would happen if a pro-life Republican president were to put this quote in his state of the union address.