RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Abortion continues to be a key part of Democrats’ campaign platform in North Carolina, which for 2024 will include what abortion rights advocates call an unprecedented investment in efforts to get out the vote.
Groups affiliated with Planned Parenthood in North Carolina announced a $10 million campaign in the state Thursday that is largely aimed at persuading people concerned about restricting abortion access to vote in November.
The spending, according to representatives from Planned Parenthood Votes and Planned Parenthood Action PAC North Carolina, attempts to end both the GOP supermajority in the General Assembly that enacted new limits on abortion last year and defeat Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson, who wants the law to become more restrictive.
The $10 million represents the largest campaign investment ever by Planned Parenthood entities in North Carolina, said Planned Parenthood Votes spokeswoman Emily Thompson.
“Our goal is clear: To protect access to abortion in North Carolina, we must ensure that voters know that abortion is on the ballot this year,” Thompson said at a conference. press near the state legislative building.
The money will be used to fund digital advertising, phone banking, direct mail and media programs on college campuses. It will also support Planned Parenthood’s canvassing goal of knocking on 1 million doors in the state before the election, Thompson said.
Most of the campaign efforts will be focused in New Hanover, Wake, Mecklenburg and Buncombe counties as part of his broader statewide strategy, Thompson said. The four counties were chosen in part because of Planned Parenthood’s health services in those areas and ongoing organization.
The GOP-controlled state legislature passed a 2023 law over Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto that strengthened the state’s ban on most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy to 12 weeks, with additional exceptions.
“These legislators had no respect for us, our rights or our freedoms,” said Emma Horst-Martz, a Planned Parenthood organizer. “They showed us what awaits us if they decide our future. »
On Thursday, several speakers specifically mentioned Robinson’s past comments on abortion. Horst-Martz called him “the worst offender in attacks on abortion.”
Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein – who is also running for governor and is a strong supporter of abortion rights – and his allies said Robinson’s comments showed he wanted a complete ban on abortion. abortion.
Robinson’s campaign said he supports a ban on abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy — that is, before many women know they are pregnant — with some exceptions. Robinson spokesman Michael Lonergan said Thursday that abortion advocates are “recycling their same old playbook” that is doomed to failure and called the Democrats’ abortion agenda a “extreme and out of step with the values of our State”.
In addition to focusing on Robinson’s loss in November, Thompson said…
