Richmond, Virginia—Over the weekend, Senator Siobhan Dunnavant released a desperate and misleading ad attacking her opponent, Delegate Debra Rodman for her record on abortion access. Delegate Rodman has been a champion for abortion access and would make sure that everyone, regardless of income, race, or zip code, can access abortion if they need it. Senator Dunnavant has a record of limiting access to abortion and voting to keep people from being able to make decisions about their own bodies.
“Everyone should be able to work hard and thrive in our communities with the ability to choose if, how, and when to start a family. But Senator Dunnavant has a long record of not only voting to limit access to abortion but even voting to limit access to birth control. If Dunnavant wins re-election, the ability to choose if, how, and when to start a family will be out of reach for many Virginia families,” Anna Scholl, Executive Director of Progress Virginia, said Monday. “Senator Dunnavant’s ad attacking Delegate Rodman is not only misleading, but it is a last-ditch effort to scare voters and win votes in a close election. Voters can see right through it and will vote for candidates who will work to bring all of us together and ensure that everyone has the ability to make decisions for themselves, especially when it comes to whether or not they will have a child.”
Background:
Senator Dunnavant’s record on abortion and birth control is clear:
- Dunnavant was one of only six Senators who voted to prevent people from accessing a year’s worth of birth control at one time.
- Dunnavant gave an odd speech on the Senate floor touting the outright lie that popular long-acting reversible methods of birth control like IUDs cause abortion.
- Dunnavant voted to defund Planned Parenthood, which would prevent mostly low-income people from accessing critical health care services like abortion and STI screenings.
- Dunnavant has voted multiple times to require a medically-unnecessary mandatory ultrasound before someone can have an abortion.