CHICAGO - In the northern suburbs, a heated contest between Congressman Brad Schneider and former Congressman Bob Dold has turned to social issues. A new ad put out by the Dold campaign features Dold's ob-gyn sister, who is expecting a baby in October. Dold's campaign is trying to keep the fact that he's a Republican out of the mix, and both candidates are opposed to abortion restrictions.
Dold spoke against defunding Planned Parenthood when he was in Congress, but Schneider grabbed Planned Parenthood's endorsement this year. Schneider is expected to make an issue of Planned Parenthood's support - and the ad with Dold's sister is said to be a pre-emptive strike as the two 10th CD candidates tussle over who's the most abortion-embracing - the assumed way to get suburban women's votes.
Lynn Sweet writes in the Sun-Times:
...Congress votes on a variety of female-health-related issues, and in 2014 the Planned Parenthood Action Fund is siding with Schneider. Though Dold opposed a GOP-led effort to defund Planned Parenthood when he was in the House — even spoke against it from the House floor — he voted for a massive funding bill that kept the federal government open but also took aim at Planned Parenthood.
Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, said in a March statement, “Schneider has remained unwavering in his support for women’s access to quality health care, and we need more leaders like him who will stand up for women’s health and speak out against extreme efforts to reduce women’s rights.” Schneider scored 100 percent on the 2014 Planned Parenthood scorecard.
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