New Ad from Planned Parenthood Action Fund Urges North Carolinians to Call on Speaker Tillis to Oppose Attacks on Women’s Health

“We really don’t need a new law that would put politicians like Speaker Tillis in the middle of personal, private medical situations like abortion. It’s just more unnecessary regulation that will cost us too much.”

You can listen to the radio spot here: http://bit.ly/174aNeS

RALEIGH — Yesterday, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund began airing a new radio ad urging North Carolinians to call Speaker Thom Tillis to oppose anti-women’s health legislation that would virtually end access to safe and legal abortion in North Carolina. HB 695, a bill unrelated to women’s health, was drastically amended last week to include every single abortion restriction introduced in the 2013 legislative session – and even new ones that were not considered before. These include targeted restrictions of abortion providers that, if implemented, could dramatically restrict the number of health centers that provide abortion in North Carolina. In another attempt to cover up these restrictions, the House Judiciary Committee gutted another unrelated bill, SB 353 formerly dealing with motorcycle safety, and inserted provisions from HB 695 into it this morning.

You can listen to the ad here: http://bit.ly/174aNeS

“This ad underscores the message that we’re hearing from Planned Parenthood patients and supporters in North Carolina and beyond: we are all better off when women and their doctors — not politicians — are the ones making medical decisions. That’s why we’re calling on North Carolinians across the state to hold Speaker Thom Tillis accountable for these dangerous and deeply unpopular sneak attacks on women’s health,” said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund. “Women across the country are standing up to say that enough is enough, and we’re making it impossible for politicians like Speaker Tillis to ignore us, no matter how hard they try.”

On Monday, as thousands of North Carolinians gathered at the North Carolina General Assembly to oppose extreme attacks on North Carolina women and their families, Janet Colm, Planned Parenthood of Central North Carolina president and CEO, was among the women's health supporters arrested after participating in a peaceful demonstration of civil disobedience. In a piece on the Huffington Post, she writes, “This past weekend — as the nation celebrated Independence Day — I decided, enough is enough. It's not just that our legislature is turning its back on the history and people of our state. It's not just that they are playing with women's lives, although that's good enough reason to take a stand. I want these politicians to see that with every attack, they are creating a fierce and ever stronger opposition. We're making it impossible for politicians to ignore us, no matter how hard they try. That's why I decided to get arrested, along with more than 60 others, at the most recent Moral Monday protest….”

The radio ad script is below:

Having trouble keeping track of what the legislature is up to in Raleigh?

That’s just the way Speaker Thom Tillis likes it.

While the rest of us were out enjoying the holiday celebrating our American freedoms, the politicians in our legislature passed a bill to take basic freedoms away from North Carolina women and families.

HB 695 would force unneeded, costly and dangerous regulations on our local health care providers.

And make accessing safe, affordable health care even harder for women in North Carolina.

We really don’t need a new law that would put politicians like Speaker Tillis in the middle of personal, private medical situations like abortion. It’s just more unnecessary regulation that will cost us too much.

We shouldn’t trust politicians to make personal decisions.

Call Speaker Tillis at 919-733-3451 and let him know:

We should trust North Carolina women and their families to make their own personal medical decisions.

Paid for by the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.