Reproductive health decisions should continue to be an individual decision based on one’s own values and principles.  These are not decisions for the government to impose on women.  As a member of the U.S. Senate, I will support a woman’s right to make her own reproductive decisions.  No one wants to see more abortions.  The best way to reduce the number of abortions is through effective family planning and education.  

I am opposed to efforts to defund Planned Parenthood and am troubled by the recent efforts of many in my former party to demonize this organization.  Planned Parenthood is the largest provider of affordable healthcare to women in this country.  The vast majority of Planned Parenthood services focus on preventing unintended pregnancies and providing tests and treatments for STDs, among other services.  One in every five women in this country has visited a Planned Parenthood health clinic.  

My beliefs on these issues run counter to those of Lisa Murkowski.  In 2012, Murkowski voted in favor of the “Blunt Amendment.”  That legislation would have allowed employers to decline to provide insurance coverage for any medical services an employer claimed to find morally objectionable – including birth control services.  In August 2015 and again in December of that year, Murkowski voted to defund Planned Parenthood.  While Murkowski has at times claimed to support women’s reproductive rights and Planned Parenthood, she has failed to be there for women when the going got tough.

As your U.S. Senator, I will fight to support the reproductive rights of every woman and the freedom to make our own private, personal decisions.