RICHMOND, VA, May 16, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Virginia Republican Convention will have some unusual guests Saturday: Planned Parenthood.
The Planned Parenthood Action Fund will hold a pro-abortion rally at the state Republican Party convention in Richmond on Saturday, the day Cuccinelli is scheduled to accept its nomination for governor. We will be meeting outside the Richmond Coliseum at 500 N 5th Street from 8:30-10 a.m,” the group announced in a blog post. “Look for our pink shirts and maybe even a special guest appearance by Pillamina.”
“Together, we will demonstrate that women’s health supporters will decide this election and determine Virginia’s future,” the group added.
Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards has said defeating Cuccinelli is a top priority for the group.
“Building on our successful 2012 electoral work in Virginia, we plan to educate thousands of voters about Ken Cuccinelli’s dangerous agenda for women’s health and economic security,” Richards said in a statement.
Cucicinelli has earned the hatred of pro-abortion groups by voting to overturn then-Democratic Governor Mark Warner's veto of the partial birth abortion ban as a state senator, drafting Virginia’s parental consent law, leading efforts to defund Planned Parenthood, and insisting the state's abortion facilities meet the same health standards as other surgical centers.
Last April, Cuccinelli said LifeSiteNews.com is “the homepage for one of the computers in our house” at a LifeSiteNews fundraising dinner in Washington, D.C.
While Cuccinelli has focused mainly on jobs and the economy in his campaign speeches, Democrats have repeatedly brought up the issue of abortion in an attempt to promote a “War on Women” narrative similar to the strategy they used during the 2012 elections.
In a robocall made to Republican and independent voters Wednesday, the Democratic Party claimed Cuccinelli’s focus on economic issues is a distraction designed to hide his true agenda:
Female Narrator: Hi, this is Michelle calling on behalf of the Virginia Democratic Party. This week, at the Republican convention, Ken Cuccinelli is going to claim he’s focused on the economy. But here he is talking about his real priority:
Cuccinelli: …All the while keeping in mind the ultimate goal, which is to make abortion disappear in America…We aren’t changing our principles for anybody.
Female Narrator: Ken Cuccinelli says he’s focused on the economy, but his real priority is pursuing an ideological Tea Party agenda that bans abortion, even in cases of rape and incest.
Earlier this year, Planned Parenthood worked with Cuccinell’s Democratic opponent, Terry McAuliffe, to launch KeepKenOut.org, a website devoted to attacking the Republican candidate for his pro-life views.
“Access to safe and legal abortion, and even contraception, would be at risk in a Cuccinelli Administration,” the website claims. “The future of Virginia women’s health hangs in the balance, that’s why we’re going to make sure voters know exactly how out-of-touch he is, and why we need to keep Ken out of the governor’s office.”
The bottom of the website states: “Paid for by Planned Parenthood Action Fund,
Planned Parenthood Votes, and Planned Parenthood Virginia PAC. Authorized by Terry McAuliffe,
candidate for Governor.”
Another website, former abortion clinic worker Stephanie Arnold’s vulgar anti-Cuccinelli website CoochWatch, plays on the similarity between the pro-life leader’s name and a slang biological term.
“The Cooch has been keeping an eye on your vagina, so now we’re going to keep an eye on him,” the website says.
Arnold maintains and publicizes a running list of Cuccinelli’s public appearances so that pro-abortion activists can protest him wherever he goes.