Planned Parenthood Votes Launches Radio Ad on Obenshain’s Dangerous Agenda for Women’s Health
For Immediate Release: Oct. 29, 2013
Planned Parenthood Votes Launches Radio Ad on Obenshain’s Dangerous Agenda for Women’s Health
“Protecting families, not pushing an extreme personal agenda, should be the top priority of our attorney general. But that’s not what we got with Ken Cuccinelli. And Senator Mark Obenshain would be just as extreme.”
You can listen to the ad here
WASHINGTON, DC — Planned Parenthood Votes today released a new radio ad warning that Virginia attorney general candidate Mark Obenshain shares the same dangerous positions on women’s health as gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli. Mark Obsenshain’s extreme record and positions are just as bad, as Ken Cuccinelli’s when it comes to women’s health. The narrator in the ad says: “Protecting families, not pushing an extreme personal agenda, should be the top priority of our attorney general. But that’s not what we got with Ken Cuccinelli. And Senator Mark Obenshain would be just as extreme.”
You can listen to the radio ad here.
Planned Parenthood Votes is investing $100,000 to run the new radio ad in Richmond and Norfolk. The ad is part of a campaign to educate and mobilize Virginia voters on women’s health in advance of the election next week. The narrator in the ad ends with “We don’t need another attorney general interfering in our private personal medical decisions. And we don’t need Senator Obenshain as attorney general.”
“Mark Obsenshain’s record and positions are just as bad as Ken Cuccinelli’s when it comes to women’s health. Like Cuccinelli, Obenshain has worked to interfere in women’s personal medical decisions related to birth control, emergency contraception, and safe and legal abortion. The majority of Virginians agree that these are deeply personal decisions that should be left between a woman and her doctor, and without interference from politicians in Richmond,” said Cecile Richards, president, Planned Parenthood Votes.
“Despite his campaign ‘promises’ to focus on jobs and the economy, Ken Cuccinelli doubled down on his attacks on women’s health as attorney general. He has constantly put his personal ideology above the needs of Virginia women and families. That’s why it is so important that Virginians know Cuccinelli and Mark Obenshain are two of a kind when it comes to women’s health. Virginians deserve better than another attorney general who will put his extreme women’s health agenda ahead of the people of the Commonwealth,” said Cianti Stewart-Reid, Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Virginia PAC.
Last week, Planned Parenthood Votes rolled out a new TV ad, “Wrong,” drawing attention to the impact that Ken Cuccinelli’s extreme and dangerous positions on emergency contraception and abortion would have on rape survivors in the Commonwealth. This is part of a million dollar TV and radio ad buy in the Richmond and Norfolk media markets. You can watch the first TV ad “Own Decisions” here; and listen to the radio ad here.
In a Huffington Post opinion piece on Virginia, Planned Parenthood Votes President Cecile Richards wrote: “So-called ‘women's issues’ have flipped a switch for voters. Across the state, we're seeing unprecedented numbers of folks who are not only eager to vote in this election, but looking for ways to help spread the word to their friends and neighbors. This election is within our reach, thanks to the folks who have knocked on hundreds of doors and made thousands of phone calls to make sure women in Virginia know what's at stake this fall.”
She continues, “Anyone who wants to run for office should take a lesson from Virginia: attacking women's health is not only bad policy, it's bad politics. The outpouring of activism we're seeing in the Commonwealth to fight back against these attacks and elect a candidate who stands with women isn't an outlier — it's the new normal.”
You can learn more about the campaign at www.keepkenout.org.
BACKGROUND:
- Obenshain co-sponsored extreme and dangerous so called “personhood” legislation with Cuccinelli when the two were in the State Senate. He continued their fight when Cuccinelli left — supporting personhood legislation again in 2012. [HB 2797, 2007; HB 1, 2012]
- Obenshain voted against legislation (alongside Cuccinelli) clarifying that birth control is not a form of an abortion and even pushed for James Madison University to stop selling emergency contraception to its students. [SB 456, 2004; Associated Press, 4/24/03]
- Obenshain supported Cuccinelli’s budget amendment that would have cut off Virginia women from access to Planned Parenthood’s preventive health services like birth control and lifesaving cancer screenings. [HB 30, 2008, Amendment #2; Associated Press, 4/24/03]
- Obenshain voted in favor of an intrusive government-mandated ultrasound prior to a safe and legal abortion. [HB 462, 2012; SB 484, 2012]
- Obenshain introduced a bill that would have criminalized a woman if she failed to report her miscarriage to the police within 24 hours. [SB 962, 2009]
SCRIPT:
Protecting families, not pushing an extreme personal agenda, should be the top priority of our attorney general.
But that’s not what we got with Ken Cuccinelli.
And Senator Mark Obenshain would be just as extreme.
Like Cuccinelli, Senator Obenshain as attorney general would interfere with our personal medical decisions.
Obenshain wants to outlaw abortion, even in cases of rape and incest, and even when a woman’s health is at risk.
Senator Obenshain has repeatedly supported bills that could interfere in a woman’s personal medical decisions about birth control, fertility treatment, and access to safe and legal abortion.
Obenshain opposes emergency contraception that survivors of sexual assault need to prevent pregnancy.
We don’t need another attorney general interfering in our private personal medical decisions.
And we don’t need Senator Obenshain as attorney general.
Planned Parenthood Votes is responsible for the content of this advertising and Planned Parenthood Votes paid for this ad. 212-541-7800. Not authorized by any federal candidate or candidate’s committee.
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Paid for by Planned Parenthood Votes and Planned Parenthood Virginia PAC in support of Mark Herring. Authorized by Mark Herring, candidate for Attorney General.