Planned Parenthood Attack Ads Target Republicans On Over The Counter Birth Control

Planned Parenthood is involving itself in the 2014 mid-term elections by attacking Republicans for their position on over-the-counter birth control.

According to a report by The Huffington Post, the non-profit organization that has long been the target itself of attacks by Republicans is returning the favor with several targeted ad campaigns attacking Republicans for support of over-the-counter birth control.

Before you go on thinking you read something you did not, let me repeat it. Planned Parenthood attack ads are targeting Republicans for supporting over-the-counter birth control.

According to HuffPo, the organization said a plan endorsed by several House Republicans making the birth control available over-the-counter without a prescription actually limits availability since insurance companies would not have to foot the bill.

The Washington Post columnist Paul Waldman said Republican support for birth control was just another way of making it tough for the poor to get the birth control they need.

“The truth is that conservatives have long been much more concerned with restricting the reproductive choices available to poor and middle class women, while leaving wealthy women free to do pretty much as they please. And allowing birth control pills to be sold over the counter is perfectly in line with that history.”

The new Planned Parenthood attack ads appear to hold a similar narrative, with an ad airing in North Carolina targeting Republican North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis.

“Just when insurance is finally covering the cost of prescription birth control, Thom Tillis says no — women should pay the 600 dollars a year… His plan lets insurance companies off the hook and costs North Carolina families more. Look closer and you’ll see that Thom Tillis isn’t being honest with us, and he’s turning the pill into yet another bill.”

John C. Jennings, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, told HuffPo that access to birth control was vital for women seeking proper healthcare and said it should not be used as a “political tool.”

The Planned Parenthood attack ads come just weeks after President Barack Obama announced changes to how birth control would be treated within the Obamacare legislation his administration has been implementing during the last year or so. The Obama administration lost a court battle earlier this year with crafts store Hobby Lobby over mandated coverage of birth control in health insurance plans after the retailer said it went against the religious beliefs of its owners.

[Image via Flickr Creative Commons]