Democrats are touting their female-heavy convention lineup in the wake of Todd Akin’s controversial comments on rape, and the Republican Party’s decision to enshrine in its party platform its opposition to abortion even in cases of rape and incest.
Democrats announced a slate of women and pro-choice advocates who will speak at their convention in Charlotte Wednesday. The list includes Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, and Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown University law graduate whose support of President Obama’s contraception coverage policy prompted Rush Limbaugh to call her a “slut” and a “prostitute.”
“This convention will define the election as a choice between two very different paths for our nation, particularly when it comes to the health and economic security of women and middle class families,” DNC spokeswoman Melanie Roussell told TPM. “The speakers announced today were chosen because they can personally define that choice.”
Roussell declined to give any details on whether the DNC made any decisions regarding convention speakers in the wake of the Akin controversy.
Over the past few months, the campaign has released a series of ads championing a women’s right to choose, funding for Planned Parenthood and warning that Mitt Romney’s positions would “drag” women back.
Earlier this month, the campaign released a video in which actress Elizabeth Banks talks about the work Planned Parenthood does for poor women, and Fluke introduced President Obama at a rally in Denver.
Before the Akin controversy and the GOP’s strictly anti-abortion platform cast a harsh spotlight on the party’s relationship with women, Republicans unveiled a line-up for their national convention in Tampa that was similarly heavy on female speakers.
Since reclaiming the House in 2010, Republicans have passed a number of bills aimed at limiting access to abortion — issues that have been thrust back into the spotlight this week thanks to Akin, and renewed attention on Paul Ryan’s anti-abortion record. Republican-led statehouses, too, have been active in limiting abortion rights in the past two years.
President Obama has an edge over Romney among women voters, and growing or maintaining that advantage will be crucial to his cause. The PollTracker Average shows Obama’s leading Romney by 10 points among women, 50.5 percent to 40.1 percent.
Other women who will appear at the Democratic convention announced Wednesday include Lilly Ledbetter, whose story inspired the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, Wisconsin Senate nominee Tammy Baldwin, Caroline Kennedy, actress Eva Longoria and Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski, the nation’s longest-serving woman ever in Congress.
