Planned Parenthood Action Fund: David Perdue Is Out of Touch with Georgia Women

Planned Parenthood Action Fund: David Perdue Is Out of Touch with Georgia Women

Atlanta, GA – On the heels of David Perdue’s victory in the Georgia Republican primary for U.S. Senate tonight, Planned Parenthood Action Fund and Planned Parenthood Southeast Advocates released the following statement to underscore his extreme views and agenda on women’s health.

“Voters need to be clear on one thing: David Perdue is out of touch with Georgia women on issues like access to birth control and safe and legal abortion,” said Staci Fox, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Southeast Advocates. “That’s why we’ll work to ensure voters in Georgia know exactly where he stands on these and other issues important to women’s health and economic well-being. Women are watching, and we want a senator that will move our country forward -- not backward -- on women’s health and rights.”

“When they know where the candidates stand, women voters consistently reject politicians like David Purdue who attack their access to health care. We saw it in President Obama’s re-election and many other races in 2012 and again in Terry McAuliffe's victory in the Virginia gubernatorial race in 2013. Access to affordable birth control, to basic preventive health care, and to safe and legal abortion are motivating issues for women when they go to the polls,” said Dawn Laguens, executive vice president, Planned Parenthood Action Fund.

According to a poll from POLITICO, when it comes to abortion rights, midterm voters are more aligned with Democrats than with Republicans, with 54 percent saying that they support access to safe and legal abortion. We hope you’ll consider covering these critical issues in the following week and months.

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.

Background

Perdue believes that abortion should be outlawed, with limited exceptions, supports overturning Roe v. Wade, and has pledged to vote against any legislation that would “weaken any pro-life law or policy.” Perdue’s National Right to Life Committee Questionnaire states that he believes that abortion should only remain legal to “prevent the death of the mother, or in cases of rape and in cases of incest committed against a minor, if such cases of rape or incest are reported to an appropriate law enforcement agency, or the incest is reported to a government agency legally authorized to act on reports of child abuse and neglect.” [Perdue NRLC Questionnaire, 2014]

Perdue has called himself “pro-life” and said that we need to “protect innocent life.” In an interview with the Marietta Daily Journal, Perdue stated, “‘Look, I am pro-life, first of all, and that’s a deeply held personal conviction, and these are personal issues, and I think we’re responsible to protect innocent life…We need to protect innocent life" he said. [Marietta Daily Journal, 2/16/14]

Perdue Supports the Health Care Conscience Rights Act and Other Legislation To “Increase Protection for Health Care Providers And Entities” Who Oppose Abortion. In his NRLC Questionnaire, Perdue confirmed his support for the Health Care Conscience Rights Act and other legislation that would increase “protections for health care providers who do not wish to participate in providing abortions or in providing health care coverage for drugs and procedures that violate their deeply held beliefs.” [Perdue NRLC Questionnaire, 2014]

Perdue Confirmed His Opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment Without an “Abortion Neutralization Amendment.” Perdue opposes the ERA unless language is inserted stating that “Nothing in this article [the ERA] shall be construed to grant, secure, or deny any right relating to abortion or the funding thereof.” [Perdue NRLC Questionnaire, 2014]

Perdue Confirmed His Opposition to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. [Perdue NRLC Questionnaire, 2014]

Perdue Would Repeal the Affordable Care Act and its historic benefits for women, including birth control and cancer screenings without a copay. His website said: "ObamaCare is an overreaching federal program that will actually reduce the quality of health care and increase costs. Potentially worse, it has already been shown to be a deterrent to full-time job creation. The consequences of politicians passing a massive bill without reading it continue to emerge. We need to repeal ObamaCare and replace it with more affordable free market solutions." [perduesenate.com via Wayback Machine]