[1]WASHINGTON (BP) — President Obama’s re-election team is emphasizing Mitt Romney’s pro-life position by rolling out two more ads attacking the Republican’s views on abortion and the abortion/contraceptive mandate.
Similar to an ad released in July, the latest two 30-second TV spots feature women expressing concern about a Romney presidency.
“I’ve never felt this way before, but it’s a scary time to be a woman. Mitt Romney is just so out of touch,” a woman named Jenni says in the ad dubbed “Women’s Choices.”
A narrator says, “Mitt Romney opposes requiring insurance coverage for contraception, and Romney supports overturning Roe v. Wade. Romney backed a bill that outlaws all abortion, even in cases of rape and incest.”
Jenni concludes, “There’s so much we need to do. We need to attack our problems, not a woman’s choice.”
A second ad, called “Important,” opens with a woman named Dawn saying, “I think Mitt Romney’s really out of touch with the average woman’s health issues.” She later adds, “I don’t remember anyone as extreme as Romney.”
[2]Another woman, named Alex, says, “This is not the 1950s. Contraception is so important to women. It’s about a woman being able to make decisions.” Later, she says, “I don’t think Mitt Romney can even understand the mindset of someone who has to go to Planned Parenthood.”
Footage of Romney in the ad includes him saying, “I’ll cut off funding to Planned Parenthood,” and “Planned Parenthood, we’re going to get rid of that.”
Planned Parenthood is the nation’s top abortion provider and in 2010 performed 329,445 abortions — more than one-fourth of the lethal procedures in the United States for that year.
The ad, which will run in battleground states Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Iowa, Colorado and Nevada, concludes with Dawn saying, “I think Romney would definitely drag us back.”
Romney’s campaign responded to the ad by pointing to economic setbacks that plague women under the Obama administration.
“Days after the unemployment rate increased and we reached 42 consecutive months with a jobless rate greater than 8 percent, it is not surprising that the Obama campaign would release a false ad in an attempt to distract from the effects of the president’s failed policies,” Romney spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg said Aug. 6, according to CNN.com.
Romney is pro-life and supports overturning Roe v. Wade, but his campaign told The Washington Post that he does not favor outlawing abortion in cases of rape and incest — a position identical to the one held by President George W. Bush.
Romney’s website says he “believes that life begins at conception” and wants to see Roe overturned.
“Americans have a moral duty to uphold the sanctity of life and protect the weakest, most vulnerable and most innocent among us,” the Romney campaign website says. “As president, Mitt will ensure that American laws reflect America’s values of preserving life at home and abroad.”
Romney does oppose requiring companies to offer contraceptives, a stance partially based on his belief that it violates religious liberty. Some of the contraceptives that are required to be covered under the new health care law can cause chemical abortions.
In the first of three Obama TV ads attacking Romney’s position on abortion, a female narrator says, “Every woman who believes decisions about our bodies and our health care should be our own is troubled Mitt Romney supports overturning Roe v. Wade. Romney backed a law that outlaws all abortion, even in cases of rape and incest.”
That ad, which aired in eight battleground states starting in July, also criticized Romney for wanting to defund Planned Parenthood.
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Erin Roach is assistant editor of Baptist Press. With reporting by Michael Foust. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress [3]), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress [4]) and in your email ( baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp [5]).