Planned Parenthood is running television ads targeting four vulnerable Senate Republicans for backing a recent bill to block its federal funding.
Beginning Tuesday, the ads will run against Sens. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Rob Portman of Ohio, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania. All four senators supported a measure earlier this month to defund the women’s health and abortion provider, which Republican leaders tried and failed to put forward.
The measure was part of a larger effort by Republicans against Planned Parenthood, after a series of undercover videos highlighted how some of its clinics provide aborted fetal tissue to biomedical companies. Some conservatives have threatened to oppose any bill this fall to keep the government funded unless it strips funds from the group.
Planned Parenthood has pushed back strongly, saying it broke no laws and helped provide human tissue for important medical research purposes. The group has released its own polling showing majorities of Americans don’t support defunding it.
“Now Republicans want to shut down the government to block funding for Planned Parenthood,” one of the ads say. “What would a shutdown mean for Pennsylvania?”
Planned Parenthood says its supporters have organized more than 100 events including rallies, town hall visits, press conferences and clinic tours, made more than 62,000 phone calls and gathered more than 900,000 petition signatures to build opposition to GOP defunding efforts.
“Millions of Americans rely on Planned Parenthood’s health centers for basic, reproductive healthcare each year … and that’s why they have no appetite for talk of defunding the care Planned Parenthood provides — and overwhelmingly oppose the idea of shutting down the federal government in order to deny millions basic reproductive healthcare,” said Planned Parenthood Executive Vice President Dawn Laguens.
