New Video Calls Out Hypocrisy in Terri Lynn Land Ad
For Immediate Release: May 2, 2014
“For over 1/3 of Terri Lynn Land's new ad, nothing happens. Kind of like her record of looking out for women. No accomplishments for protecting women's health. But plenty of work to restrict it.”
Watch Video Here
WASHINGTON, DC -- A new video from the Planned Parenthood Action Fund fills the silence in Senate candidate Terri Lynn Land’s (R-MI) campaign ad, highlighting her lackluster record of standing up for women’s health, including her opposition to safe and legal abortion, even in the cases of rape and incest, and her support of so-called personhood measures, which if enacted, could interfere with personal medical decisions relating to birth control, access to fertility treatment, management of a miscarriage, and access to safe and legal abortion.
The ad is part of the group’s Women are Watching (WAW) electoral campaign to educate voters about candidates’ positions on women’s health and rights. The script reads, “For over 1/3 of Terri Lynn Land's new ad, nothing happens. Kind of like her record of looking out for women. No accomplishments for protecting women's health. But plenty of work to restrict it.” The Action Fund is the advocacy and political arm of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
You can watch the video here: http://youtu.be/j84f6bWruso
You can learn more about the WAW campaign here: http://womenarewatching.org/
“We’re not fooled by Terri Lynn Land’s ad and Michigan voters won’t be either. The reality is that as Michigan’s secretary of state and as our state’s Republican national committeewoman, Land has stood by while out-of-touch politicians attempt to chip away at access to safe and legal abortion and birth control for Michigan women. These are issues important to Michigan women and our families and we won’t sit by while Land tries to hide from the facts,” said Lori Lamerand, president of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan.
“That's why we're proud to support Representative Gary Peters in his campaign for U.S. Senate. Senator Peters fights for all women and families, and fights for the issues that matter to women's health. He recognizes that sitting silently on the sidelines is not an option and will defend a woman's freedom to make decisions about her reproductive health, without government intrusion,” continued Lamerand.
The WAW campaign builds on the Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s successful strategy that helped propel President Obama to victory in 2012 with a historic gender gap and Terry McAuliffe to the governorship in Virginia last fall.
“We’ve seen unprecedented attacks on women’s health in recent years — and we need champions in the U.S. Senate who will stand like a brick wall against these attacks, rather than politicians like Terri Lynn Land who will stand by and let them happen. Voters deserve to know the truth about Terri Lynn Land’s record on women’s health and rights and snide campaign ads won’t cut it,” said Cecile Richards, president, Planned Parenthood Action Fund.
“Voters pay attention to where the candidates stand on women’s health issues, and no candidate will be able to win without a plurality of women. That’s why we’ve launched Women are Watching — to give women — and the millions of men who support women’s health — a place to share their energy and important information regarding what’s at stake in the upcoming election,” continued Richards.
Background: Over the last several years, Planned Parenthood advocacy and political organizations have successfully educated key voters about where their candidates stand on women’s health issues. Most recently in Virginia — where it had been decades since the party holding the White House won the Virginia governor’s race — Planned Parenthood political and advocacy organizations helped elect women’s health champion Terry McAuliffe and defeat extreme opponent of women’s health Ken Cuccinelli.
The majority of Americans believe that a woman and her doctor, not politicians, should be making health care decisions.
● Women’s health played the defining role in Terry McAuliffe’s gubernatorial victory last year in Virginia. He won women by nine points — matching Obama’s 2012 advantage with Virginia women, beating Obama’s 2008 advantage with Virginia women by two points, and flipping Republican Governor Bob McDonnell's eight-point advantage with women that propelled him to victory in 2009. Notably, 20 percent of Virginia voters said abortion was the most important issue in determining their vote, and McAuliffe won 59 percent of those votes.
● Polling from the 2012 election shows that access to safe and legal abortion, affordable birth control, and basic health care access are motivating voting issues for women, who view them as core economic issues for their families. An overwhelming majority of women voters trust Planned Parenthood political and advocacy organizations when they speak out about issues affecting the health of women.
● A 2012 post-election report from the Sunlight Foundation on big winners and losers found that the Action Fund and Planned Parenthood Votes had a 98 percent return on investment — having supported 12 winning candidates and opposing 12 losing candidates.