Two women's rights groups -- Winning Message Action Fund and Planned Parenthood -- are taking aim at John McCain 's positions on abortion and health care in a set of new ads.
In "How Much Time" (subscription), Winning Message Action Fund (the advocacy arm of the National Institute For Reproductive Health) demands that both McCain and Sarah Palin -- avid pro-lifers -- elaborate more on the repercussions for women that could ensue if Roe v. Wade is overturned. The spot starts running Saturday in Ohio and Wisconsin during shows that are popular with women, including "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and "The Early Show." Images of distraught women posing for mug shots flash across the screen one after another, with an announcer speculating that, under a GOP administration, women could end up in jail if they have an abortion.
While McCain and Palin have not said that women who get abortions would be jailed for their actions if abortion becomes illegal, the ad claims that if Roe v. Wade is overturned, which could happen under a McCain administration, "21 states will immediately move to make abortion a crime."
Kelli Conlin, president of the institute and its advocacy arm, said this particular facet of the abortion debate deserves more attention. "If there’s a candidate who honestly believes that this should be a crime, you owe it to voters to explain what happens next," Conlin said. "Who could go to jail? The woman? The doctor?"
Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood launched an ad today, "Worse For Women" (subscription), that highlights a recent study [PDF] the group conducted in conjunction with the Center For American Progress Action Fund. In the spot, a nurse suggests that McCain's health care plan falls short in covering concerns important to women, like cancer screenings and maternity care. The ad is running in Northern Virginia and D.C.
Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood's action fund, said in a press release that "what McCain has proposed is a radical health care plan that would deregulate the health care industry, let insurance companies deny coverage for pre-existing conditions, even pregnancy, impose a health care tax, would not guarantee coverage of cancer screenings, and would potentially leave millions of women who receive employer-based health insurance at risk of losing their coverage."
The McCain camp does not comment on third-party ads, and a request for comment from the Republican National Committee was not returned by press time.