Abortion Ad War Gets Ugly: Pro-Life Womens Group Accused of Being 'As Anti-Woman As It Gets,' Compared to Sex Abusers

By Samuel Smith, Deputy Managing Editor Friday, October 17, 2014

As the 2014 midterm elections near, the abortion ad war has been heating up as one pro-choice group attacked a pro-life women's group as anti-woman and used a photo suggesting that the pro-life position is akin to sex abuse.

The pro-choice group, NARAL Pro-Choice America, has released a series of political advertisements since Oct. 7 that have criticized the "radical" and "anti-choice" agenda of pro-life candidates that are backed by the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List political action committee. The ads seemingly come in retaliation to an early advertisement aired in North Carolina by the pro-life group Women Speak Out PAC that criticized Democratic Senator Kay Hagan for supporting late-term abortions.

The advertisement, which has run in North Carolina and began running in Iowa on Thursday, links the Republican Senate candidates in those states to the "extreme" agenda of the SBA List to and claims the candidates condone sexual abuse and rape.

The ad uses quotes from politicians that the SBA List has supported in the past. At the end, the ad tells the viewers to question whether or not the particular candidate the ad is attacking stands for women and families. The ad warns voters that the SBA List is spending up to $10 million this year to elect pro-life candidates.

"You've probably heard of Susan B. Anthony. She fought against slavery and championed women's rights," the ad states. "But odds are you haven't heard of the Susan B. Anthony List — a radical right wing political action committee pledged to spend 10 million dollars this year to elect anti-choice candidates in states like yours."

The ad uses flubs from Republican candidates in 2012 who are not candidates this year. It quotes former U.S. Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., as saying that women's bodies could prevent pregnancies after a "legitimate rape." The ad also quotes 2012 Indiana GOP Senate candidate Richard Mourdock as saying that rape is "something that God intended to happen."

"They oppose abortion, even in cases of rape and incest," the ad continued. "They're against contraception and sex education. Most Americans agree that personal healthcare decisions are best left to women and their families, but the SBA List thinks they know what's best for everyone. So when you see an ad by the Susan B Anthony List: Don't be fooled by the name. They're as anti-woman as it gets."

The first SBA List-supported-candidate attacked with the ad was North Carolina Republican Senate candidate Thom Tillis on Oct. 7. The ad appeared shortly after the SBA List affiliate Women Speak Out PAC had put out an ad that criticized his opponent, Democratic Senator Hagan. The ad began by using testimony of a mother and father that were grateful they did not late-term abort their daughter. Then the ad, at the end, criticizes Hagan for supporting late term abortions.

"Kay Hagan supports painful late-term abortion," the Women Speak Out Pac ad said. "She is too extreme for North Carolina."

In a post on the SBA List-run blog called "The Suzy B Blog", the group states that the NARAL ad is a direct response to the Women Speak Out PAC ad.

"So how did NARAL respond to our ad buy exposing Sen. Hagan's extreme support for painful late-term abortions?" the blog post asks. "They've launched their own anti-SBA-List ad buy — backed by tens of thousands of dollars — and packed with shameful distortions."

With Real Clear Politics labeling the North Carolina Senate race as a toss-up with a slight advantage to Hagan, another pro-choice group, Emily's List, has also purchased a six-figure ad buy in North Carolina to promote Hagan, according to News-Record.com. In order to answer to NARAL's and Emily's List's ad campaigns, the Women Speak Out PAC announced last week that they have purchased $620,000 worth of television ads in the state.

On Thursday, Iowa Republican Senate candidate Joni Ernst is the latest to be attacked by the NARAL anti-SBA List ad. NARAL announced that they have purchased a five-figure ad buy in the Des Moines and Cedar Rapids media markets. Ernst is currently running in a tight race for Iowa's vacant Senate seat that was held by retiring Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin.

In the ad against Ernst, there is not much that differs from the previous ad attacking Tillis. The only exception is that instead of using Tillis' picture, it uses Ernst's and asks the viewers to question whether Ernst is right for Iowa women and families, while showing a picture of a man that has his hands up a woman's dress.

"By including this disturbing picture in the ad, NARAL, is shamefully trying to compare the SBA List's pro-life efforts to sexual abuse," Courtney O'Brien wrote at Townhall.com.

The SBA List announced this week that they will start a billboard campaign in Ohio attacking U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur for voting for the 2009 Affordable Care Act, which according to Government Accountability Office includes 1,000 plans that use tax payer subsidies to cover abortion. The billboards will read: "Kaptur Voted For Taxpayer-Funded Abortion."

The SBA List has also launched similar billboards in Louisiana attacking Sen. Mary Landrieu.