The race for HHS Secretary Tom Price’s House seat in Georgia has intensified this week, as Democrat Jon Ossoff released an ad targeting his Republican opponent Karen Handel.
In the 30-second video, Mindy Fine, a Georgia OBGYN, chastises Handel for pulling funding for Planned Parenthood when she was the Senior Vice President of Public Policy at Susan G. Komen for the Cure:
Part of a normal exam is screening for breast and cervical cancer. When we catch it early, we save lives. But Karen Handel cut off funding for Planned Parenthood cancer screenings when she was an executive at Susan G. Komen. I don’t usually get involved in politics, but as a doctor and a breast cancer survivor myself, what Karen Handel did is unforgivable.
Contrary to what Fine seems to imply, Planned Parenthood is not essential for women’s cancer health care. In reality, Planned Parenthood’s own numbers for fiscal year 2014-2015 show that it performs less than 2 percent of all cancer screenings for women including:
This new ad pushes the issue of Planned Parenthood funding to center stage in Georgia’s 6th congressional district. The candidates are incredibly close as a recent poll shows Ossoff leading Handel with only a miniscule 2-point lead, 47 percent to 45 percent, with a margin of error of ±3.3 percent. The race for the congressional seat, which has been occupied by a Republican since 1979, is now a tossup after Trump won the district by only a narrow 1.5 percent margin.
The election has gained national attention after Ossoff, despite being backed by a whopping $8.3 million, failed to secure 50 percent of the vote on the April 18 special election. This led to the impending June 20 runoff.
As the race picks up speed, Handel has gained the endorsement of the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List in acknowledgement of her strong pro-life stance. The group praised Handel for her resignation from Susan G. Komen following the organization’s reversal of their previous decision not to fund Planned Parenthood.
With the June 20 election day only a month away, and the two candidates at a virtual deadlock, this new Planned Parenthood ad may play a decisive role in determining the results of the election.
