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Anti-Bresnahan ad misinforms on abortion

Strike Count: XX

UMP’S CALL
  • Misrepresentation of Bresnahan’s Stance: The ad falsely implies that Rob Bresnahan supports a national abortion ban without exceptions, which contradicts his public comments where he rejected such federal legislation and affirmed support for Pennsylvania’s current abortion laws.
  • Inaccurate and Speculative Language: The House Majority PAC’s portrayal of Bresnahan’s position as aligned with “far-right” abortion policies is speculative and misleading, lacking evidence from Bresnahan’s statements or legislative agenda to support these claims.

A Democratic television advertisement shows its narrator saying “I guess” Pennsylvania congressional candidate Rob Bresnahan would support a national abortion ban.

Based on Bresnahan’s own recent remarks, she guesses wrong. 

Bresnahan is challenging incumbent Democrat Matt Cartwright to represent the 8th Congressional District, which covers Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, and the state’s northeastern corner. The ad blasting the Republican challenger, created by House Majority PAC (HMP), suggests he would vote for a federal law forbidding abortion in all circumstances if he is elected in November.

“I guess that means now he and his far-right backers can pass a national abortion ban — no exceptions for rape, incest or the health of the woman,” the narrator speculates. “That means no abortion anywhere, even here.” 

The message closes with an image of Bresnahan alongside text reading, “ROB BRESNAHAN. THREAT TO PENNSYLVANIA WOMEN.” (Capitals and bold in the original.) 

HMP, widely regarded as being closely tied to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), issued a statement on September 3 touting its anti-Bresnahan ad and ten other largely abortion-related TV spots targeting other GOP candidates. The release uses even more certain language than the ad does, flatly declaring Bresnahan “would join” others seeking federal abortion prohibition.

HMP’s claim differs from Bresnahan’s public comments which appeared in The Scranton Times-Tribune on August 14. Therein, Bresnahan rejected outright any proposal to disallow abortion nationwide. He also did not endorse changes to Pennsylvania’s current policy. 

“Like President Trump, I do not support any proposed federal legislation that would impose a national abortion ban, nor do I support a ban after six weeks,” the president of Exeter-based Kuharchik Construction said. “Instead, I stand by the current protections in Pennsylvania, where the Dobbs decision returned the issue.”

HMP’s video did accurately say Bresnahan welcomed the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, which reversed the court’s 1973 holding that abortion is a constitutional right.

While Dobbs did not itself outlaw any abortions, some abortion advocates incorrectly say it did. Soon after the ruling, Penguin Random House published a book featuring liberal justices’ dissents in Dobbs with a subtitle falsely calling the case “the Supreme Court decision banning abortion.” 

Whether abortion remains legal or not depends on state-level legislation. A July analysis by the leftist London Guardian categorized Pennsylvania as among 25 states where abortion is generally “legal.” The newspaper reported that fourteen southern or western states disallow pregnancy terminations at any point with few exceptions. 

While Pennsylvania lets a woman have an abortion at any point up to 24 weeks into pregnancy, the Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act requires counseling and a 24-hour waiting period after someone requests the procedure. Minors need parental consent. 

Contra HMP, Bresnahan hasn’t protested this status quo. And while the PAC can’t legally coordinate with Cartwright on strategy or messaging, the congressman hasn’t corrected his supporters who say his opponent would federally restrict abortion. 

Those particular supporters play a key role in this contest. According to federal campaign-finance data, HMP spent $602,767 in opposition to Bresnahan and donated $10,000 to Cartwright as of July 31.

Responding to a Broad + Liberty email inquiry, Cartwright campaign spokesperson MG Darmody reproved Bresnahan’s support for Dobbs but left a question about HMP’s abortion-ban statement unanswered. 

“Nothing could be further from Northeastern Pennsylvania’s values than cheering as women lose their reproductive freedoms,” Darmody wrote. 

Bresnahan campaign spokesman Chris Pack says Cartwright should admit the PAC’s assertion about the Republican’s legislative agenda lacks any basis. 

“Congressman Cartwright [is] standing by as the Nancy Pelosi-affiliated super PAC is openly lying to the people he represents…,” Pack told Broad + Liberty. “…I suspect he doesn’t care that outside groups [are] lying to his constituents because it’s just all about self-preservation for his own political career and… that’s all he cares about at this point.” 

While Bresnahan opposes federal abortion funding but doesn’t promise to be a reflexive anti-abortion vote, the reverse could plausibly be said about Cartwright. The representative scored a perfect 100 on the latest congressional scorecard published by the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the political arm of America’s largest abortion provider

Cartwright, first elected to Congress in 2012, initially positioned himself as marginally less liberal on abortion. During a 2013 Obamacare panel discussion in Pottsville, the then freshman House member embraced the Hyde amendment which bars the federal government from funding elective abortions. He has since voted to exclude the Hyde language from appropriations legislation. 

HMP did not return a request for comment.

Bradley Vasoli is a writer and media strategist in Pennsylvania. You can follow him on X at @BVasoli.

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