What We're Reading This Morning -- May 30
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Last night, Mitt Romney won the Texas primary making it official—Romney is the Republican Party’s nominee for President. This morning, Planned Parenthood Action Fund is officially endorsing Barack Obama in his bid for re-election. Here’s what we’re reading this morning…
We’re out with a new ad that shows exactly how harmful and dangerous Mitt Romney is to women’s health. “Planned Parenthood [Action Fund] Ads to Target Romney”—“In the course of the Republican primary campaign, Mitt Romney took pains to convince socially conservative activists that he believes in them, understands their passions and would be an advocate for their causes in the Oval Office. Now, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund is unveiling one of its biggest-ever political advertising campaigns aimed at using Mr. Romney’s own words to undermine his support among women — a critical voter group among whom he already trails President Obama. In a new ad that will run in three battleground states, the political arm of the women’s health care organization accuses Mr. Romney of wanting to deny women access to birth control, abortions and equal pay for the work they do... Buoyed by polls that show Mr. Obama already has a significant edge over Mr. Romney among women, the Democratic campaign and its allies are hoping to maintain or even extend that lead. The Planned Parenthood ad fits into that strategy. The group will officially endorse Mr. Obama on Wednesday. ‘Mitt Romney has been much clearer and more direct even than John McCain in his interest in dismantling women’s health care,’ Ms. Laguens said. ‘The threats have intensified. The Republican primary laid bare and made clear what their agenda is.’”
Life is more than just black and white, and labels like "pro-choice" and ‘’pro-life’ don’t accurately represent American’s views on abortion. “Pro-choice and pro-life? On abortion, Americans say ‘it’s complicated.’”—“Last week, Gallup released new data that, at first glance, appeared to show a significant change in Americans’ perspectives on abortion. The number of Americans who identify as 'pro-choice' has dropped six points since last July, from 47 percent to 41 percent, while half (50 percent) of Americans identify as 'pro-life.' Given the charged election year atmosphere, it is not surprising that some have leapt to the conclusion that this shift represents a dramatic sea change in support for the legality of abortion. But such interpretations raise the question of whether these binary, politicized labels accurately capture Americans’ nuanced views on abortion. Last summer, a major national survey by Public Religion Research Institute uncovered a surprising but critical feature of the abortion debate: 7-in-10 Americans reported that the term ‘pro-choice’ described them somewhat well (32 percent) or very well (38 percent), and nearly two-thirds simultaneously said that the term ‘pro-life’ described them somewhat well (31 percent) or very well (35 percent). In other words: when they were not forced to choose between one label and the other, over 4-in-10 (43 percent) Americans said that they were both ‘pro-choice’ and ‘pro-life.’”
Opponents of women’s health are working to further restrict women’s right to have an abortion. “What PRENDA Would Mean to Women”—“On Wednesday, May 30, the United States House of Representatives will consider the "Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act." Known as "PRENDA," the latest version of the bill (there have been at least three) would ban abortions performed on the basis of sex. If this bill becomes law, a doctor or nurse who suspects that a patient is seeking a sex-selective abortion would be required to report her to authorities. Doctors who perform such a procedure could face jail time, fines, or lawsuits from a patient or her family. This bill means that all women -- and to be clear, particularly Asian American women -- who seek an abortion could face new, intense scrutiny. In particular, given the issue of sex selection in Asian countries, any woman who appears to be Asian American risks intense questioning about the decision she has made to seek an abortion. The bill also targets providers and makes it more difficult to provide reproductive health care including abortion…. Every week anti-choice members of Congress seem to find a new way to demonize and target women. This week's is particularly cynical. At a time when so many people are struggling, PRENDA is an insidious attempt to distract from the real issues at hand. We need solutions that improve health and improve a woman's ability to make the best reproductive health decisions for her circumstances. Further, we need policies that make it easier for a woman of color to raise her family in a safe and healthy environment, so she can continue a pregnancy if she wants to. That is the work that we will continue -- this week and beyond.”
