For immediate release: Wednesday, May 17, 2017
For more information: Tatiana Bergum, (202) 626-8825, mediarelations@nrlc.org

OSSOFF AD DISTORTS KAREN HANDEL’S PRO-LIFE POSITION
IN GEORGIA 6 RUNOFF

WASHINGTON – In an attempt to thwart pro-life Karen Handel’s election in Georgia’s 6th congressional district runoff on June 20, pro-abortion Democrat Jon Ossoff distorted Handel’s position on government funding of Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider. Ossoff is running a 30-second ad in which an Ob-Gyn asserts “Karen Handel cut off funding for Planned Parenthood cancer screenings when she was an executive at Susan G. Komen.”

“Aware that it is becoming common knowledge that Planned Parenthood does not provide mammograms, Ossoff’s ad refers to cancer screenings,” said Dr. Randall K. O’Bannon, National Right to Life director of education and research. “But Handel never cut cancer screenings when she was Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s senior vice president of public policy, and Planned Parenthood has been doing its own cutting of those services in recent years, with cancer screenings there dropping by two-thirds between 2009 and 2014. It’s worth noting that abortions stayed steady at Planned Parenthood during that time, showing that the concern for cancer screenings takes a back seat to the organization’s real commitments and making clear that the raising of this issue is largely a political ploy.”

National Right to Life endorsed pro-life Republican Karen Handel following the special election in Georgia’s sixth congressional district to replace former Rep. Tom Price, who was confirmed as the new Secretary of Health and Human Services.

The real contrast here between Handel, who is pro-life, and Ossoff, who is pro-abortion, is over how best to fund women’s health services.

“Karen Handel doesn’t think your tax dollars should go to the nation’s largest abortion provider,” said Karen Cross, National Right to Life political director. “Karen Handel believes your money is better spent by giving it to comprehensive community health centers, which are greater in number so more women are reached, and where cancer screenings and mammograms can actually be provided. In contrast, Jon Ossoff wants to use your tax dollars to pay for abortion and he supports abortion on demand.”

“Karen Handel’s position on life reflects the true values of Georgia’s voters,” said Cross.

Founded in 1968, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of 50 state right-to-life affiliates and more than 3,000 local chapters, is the nation's oldest and largest grassroots pro-life organization. Recognized as the flagship of the pro-life movement, NRLC works through legislation and education to protect innocent human life from abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide and euthanasia.

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