TIED! DuVal and Ducey TIED With Two Weeks Until Election Day!

The following guest post comes to us via Kelley Dupps, political engagement coordinator for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona.

fred-duval

Fred DuVal trusts women.

Tea Party Republican Doug Ducey acknowledged this weekend that despite all of the support from the Koch brothers, he and his Democratic opponent, Fred DuVal, are tied in the polls with two weeks left until Election Day. This revelation comes on the heels of the marriage equality court case decision on Friday.

We’ve all heard about the issues in this campaign — education, jobs, veterans — and we can all agree that these are important issues that will face the next governor of Arizona. But it’s what we haven’t heard that really sets these two candidates apart: women’s health. We have yet to hear from Mr. Ducey how he believes that the government should ban abortion in all cases — even those cases of rape, incest, or health of the mother. And that is just the start of Mr. Ducey’s long list of how he doesn’t trust women, or their families, and how he would like the government to intrude into people’s lives.

Women’s health and reproductive justice have barely been a blip on the screen. This is unfortunate because reproductive rights are the single largest set of issues distinguishing the candidates. Doug Ducey has installed Cathi Herrod from an extreme lobbying group, Center for Arizona Policy, as a key adviser on his campaign. Though he has tried to sell himself as a “moderate,” he seeks the advice of Ms. Herrod, who has been behind heinous discriminatory bills — such as this year’s SB 1062, widely regarded as an attack on the LGBTQ community — that have made our state a laughingstock. Continue reading

Pro-Choice Friday News Rundown

  • 70 percentWhen asked if they believe the government should restrict access to abortion, 70 percent of registered voters said no. It’s too bad our elected officials are so dead set on being tone deaf. (Politico)
  • The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is frustrated that more adolescent boys and girls aren’t getting the HPV vaccine. Is it simply because no one wants to talk to kids about sex? Seems pretty petty! (NYT)
  • Ireland forced a suicidal woman who was pregnant as a result of rape to give birth, against their own laws. (The Guardian)
  • Despite the Affordable Care Act being “the law of the land” for quite some time now, some insurers are still not covering birth control! (Time)
  • Speaking of the ACA, our government continues to find new ways to be even more accommodating of religious institutions that refuse to cover birth control for their employees. (HuffPo)
  • Good news and bad news. The good: Teen births are at a historic low in the United States. The bad: While the story itself doesn’t mention Arizona, a PDF of the report linked in the story shows our state has a significantly higher rate of teen pregnancy than the national average. (WaPo)
  • Because abortion is health care, California will not allow its Catholic universities to eliminate abortion coverage for their employees. (SF Gate)
  • The “Ice Bucket Challenge” craze has pissed off anti-abortion, anti-stem-cell zealots. (NY Mag)