FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 7, 2011
CONTACT: Kerry Brown at (703) 470-1926 or [email protected]
‘WOMEN SPEAK OUT’ BUS TOUR TARGETS PLANNED PARENTHOOD ALLIES, MOBILIZES GRASSROOTS SUPPORT FOR PRO-LIFE REPS.
13-District Tour Thanks Supporters, Targets Funding to Abortion Provider
WASHINGTON, D.C. ─ Today, the Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) kicked-off its 13-district “Women Speak Out: Defund Planned Parenthood” bus tour led by former Colorado Rep. Marilyn Musgrave and Live Action President Lila Rose. The four-day tour will feature press conferences with local pro-life leaders in 11 cities throughout Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Rhode Island and New Hampshire thanking Members who voted for Rep. Mike Pence’s amendment to defund Planned Parenthood in the Continuing Resolution (CR) and targeting those who voted against it.
There, SBA List staff and local pro-life leaders will join forces to rally grassroots support for Reps. Joe Walsh (IL-08), Randy Hultgren (IL-14), Frank Guinta (NH-01), Ann Marie Buerkle (NY-25), Mike Kelly (PA-03), Patrick Meehan (PA-07) and Mike Fitzpatrick (PA-08). Other stops will target those who voted against defunding Planned Parenthood, including Leonard Boswell (IA-03), Bruce Braley (IA-01), David Cicilline (RI-01), Jason Altmire (PA-04), Marcy Kaptur (OH-09) and Bill Owens (NY-23). A tentative schedule is available at https://sbaprolife.org/DefundTour.
“Planned Parenthood’s business model is destructive for women, unborn children and young girls and is offensive to taxpayers,” said SBA List Votes Have Consequences Project Director Marilyn Musgrave. “This campaign is a reminder of what the mid-term election was all about – the power of the pro-life grassroots. Pouring millions of dollars into an organization that has been repeatedly exposed as a frequent and willing ally of those who sex traffic women and underage girls makes no sense, especially at a time when our country is drowning in debt. The message is clear: not with our tax dollars. We will accept nothing less than the total defunding of Planned Parenthood.”
“Congress can no longer hide behind the lie that Planned Parenthood puts women first, especially not when they’ve been shown repeatedly willing to aid in the sexual exploitation of young girls,” said Live Action President Lila Rose. “A vote to funnel federal dollars into this corrupt organization is a vote to make taxpayers accomplices in the exploitation of women and at a time when our country is broke. We commend our Representatives who have taken the first step by voting to strip Planned Parenthood of its taxpayer funds, and implore that they hold the line in negotiations with the Senate.”
The tour is a part of a larger $200,000 grassroots campaign including radio and television ads thanking Members for their votes to defund Planned Parenthood. On Friday, the Expose Planned Parenthood Coalition, an alliance of 30 pro-life groups led by SBA List, announced that nearly 1.2 million mailed petitions and emails have been sent to Congress urging the inclusion of Rep. Mike Pence’s (R-IN) amendment in the Continuing Resolution. SBA List has gathered more than 45,000 signatures in its online petition at www.StopAbortionFunding.com, helped organize a live webcast that drew more than 100,000 participants, and hosted a press conference with Live Action and Rep. Pence, members of the Pro-Life Woman’s Caucus and pro-life congressmen.
The Susan B. Anthony List spent $11 million during the 2010 midterm election cycle. Overall, the SBA List was involved in 90 races including 62 wins and 28 losses. Successes included: defeating 15 of 20 so-called “pro-life” Democrats who voted for abortion funding in the health care reform bill; increasing the number of pro-life women in the House by 70 percent; filling the void of pro-life women in the U.S. Senate and increasing the number of pro-life women governors from one to four.
For further information, please contact Kerry Brown at (703) 470-1926 or [email protected].
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