The president of the nation’s biggest abortion business will personally campaign for President Barack Obama in the battleground state of Iowa this week.
The Obama campaign announced Cecile Richards will head to the Midwest state to promote President Obama’s re-election campaign. Richards plans to make stops in Des Moines, Ames, Grinnell, Iowa City and Cedar Rapids as she looks to boost turnout of pro-abortion voters.
The Obama campaign says Richards will discuss “what’s at stake for women in this election, and why President Obama is the right choice for women and families.”
“Come hear from women’s health advocate Cecile Richards this Thursday at 11 AM. Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, will discuss what’s at stake for women in this election, her experiences fighting to protect women’s access to health care, and why President Obama is the right choice for women and families. Bring your friends for the chance to hear from a true champion for women’s rights in this country,” it says.
The abortion business endorsed Obama in May and announced it would purchase $1.4 million in television advertising attacking the pro-life views of Mitt Romney. Planned Parenthood, more recently, started up another $3.5 million campaign attacking Romney on abortion.
“There is no greater champion for women’s health than President Obama and Planned Parenthood Action Fund couldn’t be prouder to endorse his reelection as president today,” Richards said at the endorsement. “The contrast with Mitt Romney couldn’t be starker. Planned Parenthood Action Fund is committed to ensuring that voters know how wrong Mitt Romney is for women — in his own words.”
The ad buy targets Romney’s previous comments saying he would “get rid” of federal taxpayer funding for the abortion business and Planned Parenthood indicated the ad buy would target places like West Palm Beach, Florida; Des Moines, Iowa; and voters in northern Virginia.
“When Mitt Romney says ‘Planned Parenthood — we’re gonna get rid of that,’ Romney is saying he’ll deny women the birth control and cancer screenings they depend on,” the ad’s narrator says. “When Romney says, ‘Do I believe the Supreme Court should overturn Roe v. Wade? Yes,’ he’s saying he’ll deny women the right to make their own medical decisions. And when his campaign can’t say whether he’d support equal pay protections … Romney’s putting your paycheck at risk.”
Answering a question from CNN affiliate KDSK of St. Louis, Romney listed a series of programs he would cut or eliminate as president in order to reduce the federal deficit.
“You get rid of Obamacare, but there are others,” Romney the station. “Planned Parenthood, we’re gonna get rid of that. The subsidy for Amtrak, I would eliminate that. The National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, both excellent programs, but we can’t afford to borrow money to pay for these things.”
In an interview with CNN later about the comment, Romney adviser Eric Fehrnstrom said he wasn’t referring to getting rid of the organization as a whole — because no president has the power to shut down the group — but he said Romney favors ending all federal funding to the abortion business.
“He singled out some areas of the budget he would eliminate or curtail, all in the name of achieving a balanced budget,” Fehrnstrom said. “It would not be getting rid of the organization. They have other sources of funding besides government operations, but in order to achieve balance, we have to make some tough decisions about spending.”
Romney called for de-funding Planned Parenthood earlier this year.
“I also feel that the government should cut off funding to Planned Parenthood,”said. “Look, the idea that we’re subsidizing an institution that provides abortion, in my view, is wrong. Planned Parenthood oughta stand on its own feet and should not get government subsidy.”
Romney also touted his pro-life credentials, saying, “I am a pro-life individual, I was a pro-life governor, I served as a pro-life governor, I’m a pro-life candidate. I simply do not want to participate in anything that takes the lives of an unborn child.”
Romney has called for de-funding Planned Parenthood previously.
In November, Romney had an opinion column in USA Today in which he advocated numerous ways to balance the federal budget, one of which involves eliminate funding to Planned Parenthood.
Romney proposes repealing Obamacare — which pro-life groups virtually unanimously opposed because of concerns related to taxpayer funding of abortions, rationing issues, and lack of conscience protections for pro-life medical workers. He says that will save $95 billion in 2016.
The fourth item on Romney’s list is one that will delight the pro-life voters he needs to secure the GOP nomination to face Obama: “Eliminate Title X family planning programs benefiting abortion groups like Planned Parenthood.”
Romney previously pledged to de-fund the Planned Parenthood abortion business in October during his speech before the Values Voter Summit.
“Our values must also encompass the life of an unborn child,” Romney told the thousands of pro-life advocates gathered for the Family Research Council event. “There are, of course, strong convictions on both sides of this issue. Yet it speaks well of our country that almost all Americans recognize that abortion is a problem.”
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“The law may call it a right, but no one ever called it a good. And in the quiet of conscience, people of both political parties know that more than a million abortions a year can’t be squared with the good heart of America,” Romney said.
The former governor pivoted from a philosophical position to talking about his political views and what he would do if elected president.
“I support the Hyde Amendment, which broadly bars the use of federal funds for abortions,” Romney said, “As president, I’ll end federal funding for abortion advocates like Planned Parenthood. I’ll protect a health care worker’s right to follow their conscience in their work.”
“I will nominate judges who know the difference between personal opinion and law. It is long past time for the Supreme Court to return the issue of abortion back to the states by overturning Roe v. Wade,” he added.
