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Washington DC — Republican party leadership and vulnerable candidates are reeling in the wake of accusations of sexual assault against Donald Trump. Yet as they try to distance themselves from the candidate at the top of the ticket, there’s one inconvenient fact standing in the way: These are the same politicians who have spent years doing all they can to attack women’s basic health and rights.

Quote from Dawn Laguens, Executive Vice President, Planned Parenthood Action Fund:

“Outrage at Trump’s behavior rings hollow when it comes from politicians who built their careers pushing policies straight out of Donald Trump’s locker room. Their hypocrisy stinks worse than dirty gym socks. These politicians may want to wash their hands of Trump, but they cannot wash away their record of attacking women’s basic right to health care. Americans rejected that anti-women agenda in 2012, and they will do so again this November. Politicians who refuse to stand with women will pay a price for it at the ballot box.”

This isn’t a new lesson for Republican leadership:

Yet, despite those lessons, Congress, under the leadership of Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan and John Boehner, have spent years continuing to attack women’s health care. In the past year and a half alone, they voted 24 times to restrict women’s access to health care — and nine of those votes would have specifically prevented low-income patients from accessing health care at Planned Parenthood health centers. In 2013, party leadership in the House even tried to block renewal of the Violence Against Women Act.

These are the politicians who have adopted one of the most extreme platforms in the history of the party, looking to ban abortion outright and even, for the first time in history, calling to defund Planned Parenthood in the platform itself.

Background: Vulnerable Republican candidates have been legislating attacks on women for years

New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte:

Nevada Rep. Joe Heck:

Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey:

  • Sen. Pat Toomey has voted to block patients from accessing care at Planned Parenthood health centers seven times –– including a vote in favor of shutting down the entire federal government over funding for Planned Parenthood services.

  • Pat Toomey is as extreme as it gets when it comes to access to abortion. Toomey supports putting doctors who perform abortions into jail.

  • Toomey has voted multiple times against the Paycheck Fairness Act.

North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr:

  • Sen. Richard Burr Burr has voted eight timesto defund Planned Parenthood. And prevent Planned Parenthood health centers from providing birth control, cancer screenings, and STI testing for over a million Americans.

  • Burr cosponsored the Blunt Amendment, which would expand employer’s ability to block access to birth control. And he said he was “pleased” by the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision. This decision allows employers to deny women access to affordable birth control.