A pro-abortion rights group is using a recent standoff over a human trafficking bill to attack vulnerable Senate Republicans.
NARAL Pro-Choice America said Friday it’s running a week-long series of ads on Fox, MSNBC and CNN attacking Reps. Mark Kirk of Illinois, Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Richard Burr of North Carolina and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin. All four are up for re-election in 2016.
The subject of the ads is a bipartisan anti-human trafficking bill that Congress was on track to pass last month until Democrats objected last-minute to abortion language, which bans a victims fund from being used for abortions.
Democrats had approved the bill in committee, but later said they weren’t aware of the abortion language and insisted Republicans remove it. When GOP leadership refused, Democrats filibustered the trafficking bill. They were strongly supported by abortion rights groups including NARAL.
But now NARAL is accusing Republicans of holding up the bill. “Sen. Ayotte refuses to support it unless survivors are denied access to abortion care … tell her it’s wrong to use survivors as political pawns,” one of the 30-second ads say.
