PLANNED PARENTHOOD VOTES TARGETS KELLY AYOTTE IN FIRST SENATE RACE AD BUY

For Immediate Release: April 19, 2016

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“Enough is enough. Kelly Ayotte’s bad politics could have repercussions for a lifetime.”

Washington, DC --- Planned Parenthood Votes has gone on-air with its first ad buy of the 2016 Senatorial election cycle --- a nearly $400,000 TV ad buy hitting New Hampshire Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte on her abysmal record on women’s health, and her obstruction of the Supreme Court nomination process.

Watch the full ad HERE

The ad, “Lifetime,” focuses on Kelly Ayotte’s long-time opposition to reproductive health, in particular her previous assertion that the right to safe, legal abortion should be overturned, and that it should be done via the Supreme Court. The ad is paid for by Planned Parenthood Votes, a national independent expenditure political committee. Though Planned Parenthood Votes has previously gone on-air in the 2016 presidential election, this is the committee’s first time going on air for a senate race in the 2016 cycle. It will be running on broadcast and cable in New Hampshire.

Watch the full ad HERE

Kelly Ayotte is one of the key Senators preemptively calling to block the president’s Supreme Court nominee before ever holding a hearing. While she has met with Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland, Kelly Ayotte is still refusing to do her job and give the president’s nominee a fair hearing with an up-or-down vote. The American people deserve a full court and a justice appointed by the president they elected for four years — not three—and Kelly Ayotte’s extreme position abdicating her constitutional duty in order to obstruct the creation of a fully functional branch of our government is unconscionable.

Kelly Ayotte has voted repeatedly to “defund” Planned Parenthood, and has even voted against equal pay legislation. This Senator has spent years calling for an end to safe, legal abortion and for Roe v. Wade to be overturned, and even went so far as to circulate a letter urging support for a bill to ban abortion after 20 weeks that included extreme provisions for rape survivors. Furthermore, Kelly Ayotte won’t protect access to birth control coverage, and proposed a plan that would make more women pay for birth control by undermining the health law that gave nearly 300,000 New Hampshire women access to no-copay birth control.

Statement from Deirdre Schifeling, Executive Director of the Planned Parenthood Votes:

“Kelly Ayotte may try to paint herself as pro-woman, but her record tells a very different story. Every chance she’s gotten she’s voted to ‘defund’ Planned Parenthood and cut women off from essential health care like birth control and breast and cervical cancer screenings. She has been advocating for years to ban women’s access to safe, legal abortion, and it’s clear she now sees her chance in the Supreme Court process. Kelly Ayotte is refusing to do her job, and abdicating her constitutional duty, in order to push an extreme agenda that no one in New Hampshire wants. Enough is enough. Kelly Ayotte’s bad politics could have repercussions for a lifetime.”

Statement from Jennifer Frizzell, Vice President, Planned Parenthood New Hampshire Action Fund

“Kelly Ayotte continues to advance an extreme agenda which would deprive New Hampshire women of critical reproductive health services in direct contrast to the wishes of the citizens of New Hampshire who demonstrate strong bipartisan support for access to safe, legal abortion and for access to Planned Parenthood health services. Ayotte’s latest obstruction in refusing to even consider the President’s Supreme Court nominee will have real life consequences for New Hampshire women and could jeopardize access to safe and legal abortion for women across this country for generations to come.”

Kelly Ayotte is facing a contentious race to keep her Senate seat this fall, which is understandable considering her record in New Hampshire includes voting to make college more expensive and voting to repeal health coverage for nearly 50,000 Granite Staters.

According to the polls, Ayotte’s dismal record of voting consistently to “defund” Planned Parenthood will have an even more negative impact on her already at-risk Senate race.

A survey conducted in 2015 by Hart Research shows that voters in the battleground state of New Hampshire strongly support Planned Parenthood, and oppose Ayotte’s position to “defund” the organization --- blocking patients who rely on federal funding from accessing preventive health services, including the cancer screenings and family planning services like birth control that Planned Parenthood provides to millions of women in communities across the country.

Key findings from the survey includes:

• 66 percent of New Hampshire voters oppose blocking patients from accessing Planned Parenthood’s preventive health services, including 72 percent of Independents.

• 75 percent of voter polled in New Hampshire, including majorities of Republican voters, have an unfavorable reaction to the idea of shutting down the federal government to block any funding for Planned Parenthood.

• By a two to one margin, voters in battleground states including New Hampshire are less likely to vote to re-elect their senators if they vote to block patients from accessing care at Planned Parenthood.

Fourteen separate national polls conducted since last June show strong support for Planned Parenthood and extraordinarily strong opposition to blocking patients from care.

 

SCRIPT FOR “LIFETIME”

Watch the full ad HERE

NARRATOR: For months, Senator Kelly Ayotte has followed party bosses -- refusing to fill the Supreme Court vacancy. For years, Ayotte has waited for an opportunity to push for someone to end access to safe, legal abortion and overturn Roe v. Wade:

KELLY AYOTTE: “Well, I certainly think that Roe should be overturned but I think that has to be done at the United States Supreme Court.”

NARRATOR: For New Hampshire women, the consequences of letting Kelly Ayotte play politics with the Constitution could last a lifetime.

 

BACKGROUND: KELLY AYOTTE HAS PUSHED AN ANTI-WOMEN’S HEALTH AGENDA:

FACT:  Kelly Ayotte has actively tried to undermine improvements to breast cancer detection after she voted multiple times to defund Planned Parenthood. “Defunding” the nonprofit would have cut access to breast cancer screenings and affordable birth control for thousands of New Hampshire women. In 2013, Planned Parenthood provided over 3,500 New Hampshire women with breast exams and over 11 thousand with birth control.

• Kelly Ayotte voted three times to “defund” Planned Parenthood [Roll Call Vote 36, H.R. 1, 3/9/11;Roll Call Vote 60, H. Con. Res. 36, 4/14/11;Roll Call Vote 262, S. 1881, 8/3/15]

FACT: Kelly Ayotte is not doing more for women’s health. Kelly Ayotte has an extensive record of voting against policies that would expand women’s access to the full range of health care services, which include votes to “defund” Planned Parenthood, which in New Hampshire — in addition to providing thousands of breast exams and thousands with birth control — administered over 13,000 STI tests, nearly 2,000 Pap tests, and engaged in sex education and outreach to nearly 2,000 individuals in 2013.

• Senator Ayotte voted for a bill to ban abortion after 20 weeks nationwide. [H.R. 36, Roll Call Vote 268, 9/22/15]

• Senator Ayotte voted against an amendment to the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act (S. 178), which would create a Domestic Trafficking Victims’ Fund to provide additional resources to existing grant programs that assist survivors of human trafficking. The amendment would strike the Hyde Amendment from the fund, which would prohibit federal dollars from being used to pay for access to abortion care. [S. Amdt. 301 to S. 178, Roll Call Vote 156, 4/22/15]

• Senator Ayotte voted against an amendment to the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (H.R. 2), that would have extended enhanced Medicaid reimbursement for primary care physicians,expanding it to include OB/GYN’s. It would have provided $500 million for the Title X family planning program and support training programs for women’s health nurse practitioners. Additionally, the “Women's Access to Quality Health Care” amendment would have removed a reference to a harmful provision commonly referred to as the Hyde Amendment. [S. Amdt. 1117 to H.R. 2, Roll Call Vote 140, 4/14/15]

• Senator Ayotte voted against the “Protect Women’s Health from Corporate Interference Act,” which was a legislative fix to the June 2014 Supreme Court ruling in the case of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby. [S. 2578, Roll Call Vote 228, 7/16/14]

• Senator Ayotte voted against an amendment to the FY2014 Senate budget resolution, sponsored by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), that would “establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund to protect women's access to health care, including primary and preventative health care, family planning and birth control, and employer-provided contraceptive coverage, such as was provided under the Affordable Care Act.” The amendment passed 56-43.[Roll Call Vote 64, S.Amdt. 438 to S.Con.Res. 8, 3/22/13]

• Senator Ayotte voted in favor of an amendment to, “create a point of order against any legislation that would provide taxpayer funds to the United Nations while any member nation forces citizens or residents of that nation to undergo involuntary abortions.”  [Roll Call 86, S.Amdt. 702 to S.Con.Res. 8, 3/23/13]

• Senator Ayotte voted for an amendment that would criminalize doctors and close family members who help young people access a safe and legal abortion. [S. Amdt. 292 to S. Con. Res. 8, Roll Call Vote 64, 3/22/13]

What people are saying about Ayotte’s record:

 

Boston Globe: This Senate Race Ground Zero For Women Issues

“...Democrats, meanwhile, called into question the seriousness of Ayotte’s legislative efforts. New Hampshire Democratic National Committeewoman Kathy Sullivan described them as “a sham.”

“And if there’s one issue that each campaign plans to use against the other, it’s government funding for Planned Parenthood. Ayotte has voted three times to not have any government funds go to Planned Parenthood.”

 

Bustle: Sen. Kelly Ayotte's Women's Rights Record Has Been Placed Under Heavy Scrutiny. Should It Be?

“Earlier this month, Ayotte told Foster's Daily Democrat that working parents shouldn't be "so hard" on themselves — a suggestion that some feminists find ironic, because in 2013, Ayotte sponsored a bill that would have taken benefits away from working parents. The failed Working Families Flexibility Act, which The New York Times referred to as the "Family Unfriendly Act," would have given workers, including low-wage workers, leave time that could be used with their families — at the expense of their overtime pay grade. Private-sector employees who worked overtime or more than 40 hours each week would be able to choose to have leave time, but they would be paid their regular rates when working overtime, rather than overtime pay rates.

“Ayotte's other actions on women's rights are similarly dismal, if not surprising. Ayotte has expressed her support for defunding Planned Parenthood in the past, but she also criticized her fellow Republicans last month for attempting to pass a bill that was destined to fail and could have caused a government shutdown. Ayotte also co-sponsored the failed Blunt Amendment, which would have allowed corporations to refuse to provide birth control health coverage for their employees. Still, Ayotte hasn't done anything for women's issues that most other Republicans wouldn't have done — Carly Fiorina, a GOP presidential hopeful, is also anti-choice.”

 

What New Hampshire is saying:

Concord Monitor: Letter: Seeing through Ayotte

“Fellow Granite Staters, please do not be fooled by Sen. Kelly Ayotte’s recent tactics with this latest GOP effort to defund Planned Parenthood and possibly shut down the government.

“Make no mistake. A look at Ayotte’s record opens a window that shows a much different image than the one she’s trying to create for herself now that her re-election is fast approaching. Facts don’t change, and once you get beyond her recent sleight of hand, the simple facts are that Ayotte has repeatedly voted to shut down the government and defund Planned Parenthood. The reason for her most recent stunt of a vote is to fool the masses and achieve her goal, which is to get re-elected – something that she’s clearly worried about.”

Read the full letter here

 

Concord Monitor: Letter: Weighing Hassan vs. Ayotte

“She has also voted several times to defund Planned Parenthood, which provides critical health services to women, and wants to end traditional Medicare by turning it into a voucher program. She also would take health care away from 100,000 Granite Staters by overturning the ACA. All of this on top of protecting billions of dollars in special tax breaks for big oil companies and companies outsourcing jobs that support her.”

Read the full letter here.

 

Concord Monitor: Letter: Ayotte has poor record on women’s health care:

“While Ayotte claims to be a big defender of women's health, her record demonstrates otherwise. Ayotte has voted right along with her Republican colleagues as they continue, what some have termed, their "war on women."

“Let's look at the facts. Ayotte supported the misguided Hobby Lobby decision. She voted multiple times to allow employers to deny women access to contraception. She introduced a sham birth control bill that increased costs for women which, by the way, was opposed by the American Congress of OB-GYNs.

“Ayotte voted repeatedly to defund Planned Parenthood and other family planning centers. These centers provide critical health services including breast and cervical cancer screenings.

“While Kelly Ayotte and her backers are desperately trying to rewrite history, they can't alter the facts. Ayotte has repeatedly voted to block women's access to health care. She has supported efforts to allow employers to deny women coverage for birth control and other preventative screenings. One would hope that in 2015 a woman no less could do better than that.”

Read the full letter here.

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Paid for by Planned Parenthood Votes, 123 Williams St, NY NY 10028. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. Planned Parenthood Votes is an independent expenditure political committee registered with the Federal Election Commission.