Planned Parenthood Action Fund Targets Women Voters in Ohio with Expanded TV Ad Buy

Planned Parenthood Action Fund Targets Women Voters in Ohio with Expanded TV Ad Buy; Ad Developed to Highlight Romney’s Own Words

Highlights Romney's Dangerous Record on Women’s Health;
“Mitt Romney Would Turn Back the Clock for Women”

Watch the 30-second TV ad here:

Washington, DC — With less than 50 days until the election, Planned Parenthood Action Fund is expanding its battleground campaign to Ohio with a $1.9 million buy behind its 30-second TV ad called “Turn Back the Clock on Women’s Health.” The TV ad highlights Mitt Romney’s extreme and out-of-touch record on issues that are polled to be of importance to Ohio women and their health, including his stance to end safe and legal abortion by overturning Roe v. Wade and his pledge to “get rid” of Planned Parenthood.

You can watch the 30-second TV ad here.

The strategy behind the ad comes from recent polling of likely swing Ohio women voters, who said they solidly support upholding Roe v. Wade and keeping abortion safe and legal (by 58 points), and favor a candidate who will leave the decision to a woman in consultation with her health care provider (by 60 points). In addition, Ohio women said they are more likely to vote for a candidate who will continue funding for Planned Parenthood (by 56 points).

The most effective characterization of Mitt Romney in Ohio is that he would “go too far in interfering with personal decisions of women.”

“The more women learn about Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan’s records and positions on women’s health, the more appalled they are,” said Dawn Laguens, executive vice president for Planned Parenthood Action Fund. "Politics has no place in a woman’s personal medical decisions. Women voters understand that, and in November their votes will reflect it.”

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have vowed to overturn Roe v. Wade and end safe and legal abortion; have said they support extreme “personhood” measures that would give full constitutional rights to fertilized eggs; would defund Planned Parenthood, cutting off women’s access to preventive care including cancer screenings and birth control; and have promised to shut down the nation’s family planning program that more than five million people a year rely on for birth control, cancer screenings, and other care.

In 2011, the 31 Planned Parenthood health centers in Ohio saw 55,408 clients served by federal programs, providing them with a wide range of preventive health care services, including birth control, breast exams, Pap tests, and STD testing and treatment. It is these preventive services that would be threatened under the Romney/Ryan administration.

“Ohio women depend on the preventive health services that Planned Parenthood health centers provide and know how much is at stake this November,” said Katherine Schwarz, state field director for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio. “Here in Ohio, a bill that aims to defund Planned Parenthood gives us a clear preview of the dangerous agenda that Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and their closest allies have for women. That’s why it is so important that voters learn about the Romney/Ryan agenda and how dangerous it is for women’s health.”

The Ohio ad buy will begin airing today on cable and broadcast television in the Toledo and Columbus markets and is part of a combined $3.5 million dollar TV buy spanning Ohio and Virginia markets from the Planned Parenthood Action Fund and Planned Parenthood Votes. It comes as part of the organization's biggest-ever campaign effort — the group has also taken the lead in unprecedented new research on women voters’ beliefs and voting propensities; and has committed “boots on the ground” from staff, campus activists, and nationwide supporters.

The Action Fund is also out with a round of digital ads in Ohio today totaling an additional $85,000.

Nearly three million patients come to Planned Parenthood health centers every year — not to make a political statement, but to get high-quality, affordable health care. Planned Parenthood health centers see more than two million patients for birth control every year, and provide nearly 750,000 breast cancer screenings and more than four million STD tests/treatments. Preventive care and birth control are economic issues for women and families, and supporting family planning is smart fiscal policy for the country.

The ad script is as follows:

Voice Over: Mitt Romney would turn back the clock for women.
Romney: "Do I believe the Supreme Court should overturn Roe v. Wade? Yes."
Romney: "Planned Parenthood — we're going to get rid of that."
Voice Over: Today, millions of women rely on Planned Parenthood health centers for basic health care, including lifesaving cancer screenings. And millions more know we should be making our personal medical decisions, NOT Mitt Romney.
The ad ends with: “Mitt Romney is wrong for women’s health.”