Members of Advocates of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region want Rep. Todd Akin, R-, to know they do not plan to vote for him in the upcoming Senate election, due to what they believe to be a medically and factually erroneous statement he made during a .
Akin alleged that women’s bodies somehow naturally prevent pregnancy in cases of
Planned Parenthood representatives called Akin's remarks "ignorant, appalling and insensitive."
See related article:
Stating that their "anger is legitimate and so are our votes,” Planned Parenthood Advocates created a petition to let Akin know they believe his perspective—which they call a "dangerous ideology"—has no place in Missouri politics.
The Advocates' members indicated in a news statement that Akin is not alone in his fundamental disregard for women and women’s health. "Candidates for office, including Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, are amongst the list of legislators who underscore the danger of politicians deciding what health care women can and cannot get," the statement read.
Read other related article:
As Planned Parenthood pointed out the day after Akin’s controversial remarks, his position echoes those of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan including:
- Overturning Roe v. Wade and banning abortion services
- Defunding Planned Parenthood’s preventive services
- Support of extreme “personhood” measures that would give full rights to fertilized eggs and could ban some forms of birth control and fertility treatments
- Shutting down the nation’s family planning program, which more than five million low-income people a year rely on for cancer screenings, birth control, and other services
- Empower bossed to decide whether their employees can have birth control covered like any other preventative care.
On Wednesday, Planned Parenthood Advocates and supporters said they vow to let Akin and other politicians with similar views know that “millions of women and men will be working day and night this election season to keep them out of power.”
One in five women in the United States turn to Planned Parenthood to get high-quality, affordable health care and medically accurate information, sources indicate.
