Republican attorney general nominee Mark Obenshain’s latest TV ad claims there are erroneous attacks against him, but Democrats say the real truth is Mark Obenshain hasn’t been honest about his record.
On a press call today, State Sen. Barbara Favola (D-Arlington), former State Del. Katherine Waddell (I-Richmond), Tarina Keene, Executive Director of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia, and Cianti Stewart-Reid, Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Virginia PAC, responded to the Obenshain ad.
“Mark Obenshain’s extreme record is so deplorable when it comes to women’s health care that there is no way the women of Virginia can ever trust him,” Favola said. “Mark Herring, on the other hand, has always been straightforward with the voters. Mark Herring does not have to walk away from his record because it is record that all Virginians can be proud of. Women can trust Mark Herring to protect their constitutional rights to privacy when it comes to making health care decisions. Mark Obenshain will put government in the middle of these very personal decisions.”
“I would challenge Mark Obenshain to tell the truth about his record regarding women’s health,” Waddell said. “I’m a Republican and a woman who can never, ever support Mark Obenshain. What we’ve seen him do as a legislator in regards to women’s health care is shameful.”
On Tuesday, the Washington Post endorsed Democrat Mark Herring for attorney general and described Obenshain as a “doctrinaire conservative who has tried to explain away” his extreme record.
The Post said about Obenshain’s record regarding women’s health: “Not content to oppose abortion rights, Mr. Obenshain introduced a senseless bill that would have required women to report miscarriages to the police. Amid the resulting outcry, Mr. Obenshain withdrew the bill; now he says he didn’t mean it.”
Tarina Keene agreed with the Post, saying, “Mark Obenshain has been going around the Commonwealth intentionally misleading Virginians about his record on women’s health. He seems to be offended by his own offensive bills, his own voting record, and just the plain truth. He sponsored a bill that would have forced women to report miscarriages to the police. And he has been a cheerleader in the effort to close down women’s health clinics throughout the state. It’s time that women know the truth about Mark Obenshain – that he has a proven and extreme when it comes to women’s health care and Virginians just can’t trust him.”
Cianti Stewart-Reid of Planned Parenthood Virginia PAC of Virginia said, “It’s really clear now, in these final days of the elections, that Mark Obenshain is not for women’s health. We’ve had enough, we deserve better and we deserve someone who won’t put their extreme agenda ahead of the Commonwealth of Virginia.”
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AFP
