Planned Parenthood is throwing its weight around again in the midterm elections.
Newsweek reports the abortion chain’s political action arms plan to spend $20 million to support pro-abortion Senate candidates in eight states.
Key targets include Senate and gubernatorial races in Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, according to the report. Planned Parenthood Action Fund and Planned Parenthood Votes plan to spend the money on TV and digital ads, mailers and on-the-ground efforts.
Republicans narrowly hold the U.S. Senate. However, they have too few votes to overcome filibusters on key pro-life bills such as the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. Just a few more pro-life wins in the Senate could see important pro-life legislation passed. A few losses could bring the pro-abortion Democratic Party back into power.
“Planned Parenthood is a winning issue,” said Kelley Robinson, of Planned Parenthood Votes, on Thursday. “Fighting for reproductive health care is an issue that wins elections.”
Just two years ago, however, Planned Parenthood spent more than $38 million to back Hillary Clinton and other pro-abortion candidates, many of whom lost their races.
Here’s more from the report:
In Wisconsin, Planned Parenthood is zeroing in on Governor Scott Walker, who has backed a 20-week abortion ban that allowed for no exceptions in instances of rape or incest. Walker also signed legislation in 2016 diverting state and federal funds away from Planned Parenthood clinics and toward other healthcare providers.
The organization’s Wisconsin efforts will also include doing everything in their power to keep Democratic incumbent Tammy Baldwin in her U.S. Senate seat.
In Pennsylvania, the reproductive rights organization wants to keep Democratic Governor Tom Wolf in office and unseat state Senator Scott Wagner, a Republican who co-sponsored legislation to defund Planned Parenthood.
SIGN THE PETITION! Congress Must De-Fund Planned Parenthood Immediately
In Pennsylvania, Wolf has been a very close ally of Planned Parenthood, having once served as a volunteer for one of its abortion facilities. He recently vetoed legislation to prohibit brutal dismemberment abortions on nearly fully-formed unborn babies.
Likewise, Baldwin has been dedicated to Planned Parenthood’s abortion-on-demand agenda. She has a 100-percent pro-abortion voting record in the U.S. Senate, and even opposed a late-term abortion ban and a bill to protect babies born alive after failed abortions.
Deidre Schifeling, executive director of Planned Parenthood Votes, said they want to build a “historic resistance” to the pro-life policies of the Trump administration.
“The Trump-Pence administration is responsible for an unprecedented assault on Planned Parenthood patients and our communities, aided by politicians at state and federal levels who have supported dangerous policies meant to strip us of our rights and our ability to access health care,” she said.
Whether the huge political spending will achieve the abortion chain’s goals remains to be seen. It spent massive amounts on the 2016 presidential election as well, and lost.
A post-election poll by the Polling Company/Women Trend in 2016 found that 49 percent of voters said the abortion issue affected their vote. Of those, 31 percent “voted for the candidates who oppose abortion (pro-life),” while only 18 percent “voted for the candidates who favor abortion (pro-choice).” This was a 13-percent advantage for the pro-life candidate.
With young people increasingly passionate about the right to life, there is hope that Planned Parenthood will fail again this fall.
