The campaign of Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul has launched a new campaign ad that attacks pro-life Republican hopeful Rick Santorum and makes viewing believe Santorum supports funding the Planned Parenthood abortion business.
The ad lists different funding measures Santorum supported as a member of the Senate and makes the claim that, by voting for an overall budget bill that funded the federal government that contained Title X funding, Santorum supposedly supports Planned Parenthood’s abortion agenda. The ad goes along with an attack Paul made on Santorum saying his socially conservative views are meant “to control peoples’ lives.”
“Not groovy,” the narrator says in the ad that will run on cable television in Michigan, which votes next week, adding that Santorum “even hooked Planned Parenthood up with a few million bucks.” The ad is exepcted to be supported with a six-figure buy and may be extended into states that vote on Super Tuesday.
Although Santorum voted for funding for Title X family planning efforts, he has opposed funding the Planned Parenthood abortion business, funding abortions with taxpayer funds and has joined the effort to revoke all funding for Planned Parenthood via Title X.
On Monday, on the Sean Hannity program on Fox News, Santorum himself responded to the charge.
“Look, I’m not a big fan of Title X, that is Planned Parenthood. No, I want to defund Planned Parenthood,” he told Hannity.
Santorum also said in December that he strongly supports the most recent efforts in Congress to eliminate taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood.
“[The abortion] is an inhumanity that should not occur in this country,” Santorum said, according to the Daily Iowan. “[Tax dollars] should not be used for things that are morally objectionable.”
Santorum has repeatedly called for de-funding the Planned Parenthood abortion business and, earlier this year, told the SBA List pro-life group, “If you look at Planned Parenthood; if you look at the abortion industry…they fight every single regulation every single bit of information that should be given to the patient, they all fight it as an affront to the right of abortion.”
In April, Santorum urged Indiana governor Mitch Daniels to sign a bill the state legislature approved de-funding Planned Parenthood.
“I can’t imagine any other organization with its roots as poisonous as the roots of Planned Parenthood getting federal funding of any kind,” Santorum said. “This is an organization that was founded on the eugenics movement, founded on racism — I mean, it’s horrific. It’s origins are horrific. And you can say, ‘well it’s not that anymore.’ It’s not far from where it was in my opinion.”
In fact, the record shows Santorum has a long line of votes to deny taxpayer funding for abortion and Planned Parenthood and frequently compiled 100% pro-life voting records from the National Right to Life Committee.
During his last year as a senator from Pennsylvania, Santorum opposed a an amendment to nullify the Mexico City Policy, which President George W. Bush put in place to revoke funding to Planned Parenthood to promote and perform abortions in other nations. In 2001, President George W. Bush, by executive order, adopted a policy that U.S. funds for overseas “population assistance” programs could not go to private organizations that perform abortion or promote abortion (except to save the life of the mother, or in cases of rape and incest) — for example, by working to repeal pro-life laws. Santorum, on April 5, 2005, voted against the Boxer amendment to nullify that.
Santorum also voted against funding abortions or Planned Parenthood in several other situations:
* July 2003 – Voted to support the Mexico City Policy de-funding Planned Parenthood.
* May 2003 – Voted against allowing abortions at tax-funded military base hospitals.
* June 2000 – Voted against allowing abortions at tax-funded military base hospitals.
* May 1999 – Voted against allowing abortions at tax-funded military base hospitals.
* June 1998 – Voted against allowing abortions at tax-funded military base hospitals.
* July 1997 – Voted against taxpayer funding of abortions in federal employee health insurance plans.
* July 1997 – Voted against allowing abortions at tax-funded military base hospitals.
* June 1997 – Voted against taxpayer funding of abortions in the S-CHIP program
* February 1997 – Voted against taxpayer fund of the pro-abortion UNFPA
