Pro-abortion groups are using a racist smear campaign to try to unseat a long-time champion for life in Texas this summer.
Texas state Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr., a pro-life Democrat who represents the Rio Grande Valley, is facing a runoff election against pro-abortion challenger Sara Stapleton-Barrera.
Recently, Planned Parenthood Texas Votes launched a series of digital attack ads and a website slamming the pro-life senator, who is Hispanic, as “Sucio Lucio.”
That’s basically equivalent to “dirty Mexican,” a racial slur, said Kyleen Wright, president of Texans for Life.
She described Lucio as a dedicated advocate for the lives of born and unborn Texans.
In 2017, he was one of two Senate Democrats who voted in favor of legislation to protect unborn babies from brutal dismemberment abortions. He also supported measures to make sure abortion facilities give mothers the opportunity to see their unborn babies on an ultrasound and hear their heartbeats, as well as legislation to ensure abortion facilities meet basic health and safety standards.
“I very much support making sure that those who are unborn have the protections they need,” Lucio said in 2011.
Wright said Lucio has been an important vote in helping to pass pro-life laws in Texas, and pro-abortion groups have dumped a ton of money into this race to defeat him.
“Sen. Lucio is a faithful Catholic who sees his service in the Texas Senate as his vocation. For 30 years he has supported pro-life, pro-family legislation faithfully,” she said.
Keep up with the latest pro-life news and information on Twitter. Follow @LifeNewsHQ
And for this, Planned Parenthood and other pro-abortion groups are trying to kick him out of office.
Planned Parenthood’s campaign includes digital ads, an attack website, and a social media effort through “young community activists” in the Rio Grande Valley.
The website states, “Sen. Lucio has a solid record of voting for and supporting anti-choice, anti-LGBTQ, anti-immigrant, anti-environment, anti-worker, anti-health care, and anti-public school policies.”
The website identifies Lucio as “a close ally of extremist politicians, including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Gov. Greg Abbott.” Similarly, a YouTube video released by Planned Parenthood ties Lucio to Patrick, highlighting the fact that Lucio called the lieutenant governor a fellow Christian.
The pro-abortion groups Progress Texas, NARAL and Texas Freedom Network also are attacking the pro-life senator, and some have been using the #SucioLucio hashtag, too.
Interestingly, many of these same pro-abortion groups also claim to fight against racism. Last week, Planned Parenthood even launched a campaign to fight “systemic racism” – deflecting from its own racist roots.
Meanwhile, Life PAC set up a website to refute the smear campaign by comparing Lucio’s strong pro-life record to his opponent’s positions. According to the pro-life group, Stapleton-Barrera is 100% with Planned Parenthood and even opposes life-saving protections for babies who survive late-term abortions.
The runoff election is scheduled for July 14.
