Abortion gets heavy attention in Pa. Senate race

HARRISBURG, Pa. — The battle to persuade swing voters in the state's close U.S. Senate race includes a heavy emphasis on abortion rights that's being linked, in part, to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

The president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America campaigned for Democratic candidate Katie McGinty in moderate southeastern Pennsylvania on Tuesday, and the president of NARAL Pro-Choice America is scheduled to do the same at Bryn Mawr College today.

The contest also has brought to Pennsylvania millions of dollars in TV ads attacking Republican incumbent Sen. Pat Toomey's record, including at least two this month. There has been little such response in defense of Toomey's opposition to abortion rights or attacks on McGinty over her support for it.

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NARAL president Ilyse Hogue said the issue has picked up momentum in this campaign cycle in part because of inflammatory comments about women spoken by Trump, who has referred to a woman's "fat, ugly face," bragged about aggressively groping women and called a former Miss Universe "disgusting."

"What I think people are coming to understand particularly in the polarized political dialogue right now is abortion rights is a proxy for the world view that either treasures women as trustworthy and equal in society or treats women as not quite soul partners and not quite people who can be trusted to make their own decisions," Hogue said on Friday.

State-level legislation, including in Pennsylvania, that would further restrict abortion rights or access and a slew of federal court decisions over the summer blocking various state laws raised awareness, Hogue said.

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But Trump made it "move up the food chain, in terms of something people really want to consider and vote on," she said.

Trump, as a presidential candidate, has said he opposes abortion rights. The Democratic presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, has made it clear she wants to preserve them.

Toomey supports exceptions for rape, incest and saving the life of the mother. He also voted to halt federal payments to Planned Parenthood, although his campaign noted the money would have flowed to other community health centers.

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Michael McMonagle, president of the Pro-Life Coalition of Pennsylvania, acknowledged that his side does not have the cash to match the firepower of abortion rights groups, whose campaign arms have spent more than $4.5 million to help McGinty since the primary.

But, he said, his organization is working hard for Toomey's campaign and aims to distribute 150,000 voter guides to homes and churchgoers around the state.

"It's a stark choice," McMonagle said. "Pat Toomey has a 100 percent pro-life record. Katie McGinty has a 100 percent pro-abortion record."

He maintained that southeastern Pennsylvania is friendly to "pro-life" causes, having elected a majority of state legislators who oppose abortion rights. But the Republican Party shies away from a campaign fight on the issue, he said.

"Democrats declare war over abortion, Republicans declare a truce, so the pro-life cause, we do the best we can," McMonagle said.

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Planned Parenthood's super political action committee also is undertaking a broad grassroots effort, saying the organization has volunteers and paid canvassers knocking on close to 420,000 doors and is mailing fliers to another 215,000 households. Key targets are women who are undecided, registered independents, under 35 or racial minorities.

The first-term Toomey is among the Senate's most endangered Republicans, running for re-election in a state where registered Democrats hold a 4-3 ratio advantage over Republicans. The GOP is struggling to keep its 54-46 Senate majority, and the race could tip control to Democrats.