Planned Parenthood Advocacy and Political Organizations Launch “Keep Ken Out” Campaign; Highlights Ken Cuccinelli’s Dangerous Agenda for Virginia Women’s Health and Economic Security
For Immediate Release: Feb. 13, 2013
You can view the campaign website here: www.KeepKenOut.org http://keepkenout.org/
WASHINGTON — Planned Parenthood advocacy and political organizations launched a new website today highlighting Republican candidate for governor Ken Cuccinelli’s dangerous record and agenda for Virginia women’s health and economic security. The website launch is part of the organizations’ “Keep Ken Out” campaign and coincides with the release of Cuccinelli’s new book The Last Line of Defense, which among other things, attacks the Affordable Care Act’s no co-pay birth control benefit.
You can view the campaign website here: www.KeepKenOut.org
Last month, Cuccinelli compared his fight against the Affordable Care Act’s birth control benefit to the civil rights struggle led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and argued that opponents of no co-pay birth control should be willing to “go to jail” to fight the law. Cuccinelli has been described as the “Son of Santorum” by the New York Times and as “the most overtly partisan attorney general in Virginia’s history” by the Washington Post editorial board.
“If the November election taught us anything, it’s that voters are sick and tired of politicians like Cuccinelli who want to insert themselves into our personal medical decisions. Cuccinelli’s ongoing attacks on women’s health and economic security should be a warning to us all: women’s health will be on the Virginia ballot in 2013,” said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund.
“Planned Parenthood Virginia PAC worked hard to defeat anti-women’s health candidates in November and we are stronger than ever for 2013. We will make sure that Virginia voters are aware of Cuccinelli’s dangerous agenda for women and their health care,” said Cianti Stewart-Reid, executive director, Planned Parenthood Virginia PAC.
Cuccinelli, the first attorney general in the country to file a lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act, supports letting employers decide whether a woman has access to affordable birth control; introduced an amendment to defund Planned Parenthood in Virginia; is opposed to safe and legal abortion even in cases of rape or incest; supported targeted regulations of abortion providers (TRAP) designed as a backdoor ban to eliminate access to safe and legal abortion in Virginia; and is a leading advocate for extreme and dangerous so called “personhood” efforts that if enacted, could interfere with personal, private, medical decisions relating to birth control, access to fertility treatment, management of a miscarriage, and access to safe and legal abortion.
According to a survey by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, seven out of 10 Americans believe that health insurance companies should cover the full cost of birth control, as required by the Affordable Care Act’s birth control benefit.
According to election night exit polls, 86 percent of Virginia voters believe abortion should remain legal in at least some or all cases.
Additional facts about affordable and accessible birth control
- Millions of Americans stand to benefit from the Affordable Care Act. In August, the birth control benefit went into effect, making birth control available without co-pays or deductibles. On average, women spend up to $600 a year on birth control.
- Research finds that availability of the pill is responsible for a third of women’s wage increases relative to men. By the 1980s and ’90s, the women who had early access to the pill were making eight percent more each year than those who did not.
- A Contraceptive CHOICE Study found that access to no co-pay birth control — as is outlined in the Affordable Care Act — can lead to significantly lowered abortion rates. Specifically, the researchers estimate that national simulation of the CHOICE project could prevent 41-71 percent of abortions performed annually in the U.S.
Additional facts on the state of Women in Virginia
- In 2008, there were 375,500 women in Virginia in need of publicly supported contraceptive services and supplies.
- In 2010-2011, 18 percent of women aged 15-44 in Virginia were uninsured.
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Paid for by Planned Parenthood Action Fund and Planned Parenthood Virginia PAC.
Authorized by Terry McAuliffe for Governor, candidate for Governor.