The reelection campaigns of State Reps. Proncey Robertson (R-Mt. Hope) and Debbie Wood (R-Valley) are being targeted by negative campaign ads questioning their records on abortion.
The group, operating under the name of End Abortion Alabama, is also taking aim at Gov. Kay Ivey.
What many Alabama political observers have taken notice of, however, is that the Republicans who are being subjected to content questioning their stance on the issue supported Alabama’s Human Life Protection Act in 2019.
The law bans common abortion and only provides for narrow exceptions such as in cases of a mother’s life being in jeopardy. The law has been dubbed by many as the strongest pro-life law in the nation.
Many say that Alabama’s 2019 pro-life measure helped pave the way for the issue of abortion to make its way through the judicial system, which eventually led to what appears to be the imminent overturning of Roe v. Wade.
The group’s actions have drawn the ire of House Speaker Mac McCutcheon (R-Monrovia), who lambasted the organization and defended the pro-life records of Robertson and Wood. The speaker also took issue with what he deemed as the group’s lack of transparency surrounding its governance and funding sources.
“There is a new political group paying for campaign ads against proven conservative pro-life Members of the Legislature,” noted McCutcheon in a statement to Yellowhammer News. “House Members, like Rep. Proncey Robertson, have cast several votes supporting pro-life pieces of legislation, yet he is being attacked. Rep. Debbie Wood, a co-sponsor of the 2019 Human Life Protection Act, is being attacked by this political group.”
“This shady group will not tell the public who is on their board or where their money is coming from for these political attack ads. ‘End Abortion Alabama’ is a secretive and misleading political group,” added the speaker.
According to End Abortion Alabama, it mailed surveys to “candidates across the state” asking them a series of questions relating to the issue. The group maintains that the governor, along with Robertson and Wood, did not send a response to the survey.
Yellowhammer News inquired with End Abortion Alabama, asking the group if failing to respond to a survey from them would justify the candidates’ having their records called into question.
“We mailed a candidate survey to every person running for Governor, State Senate, and State House of Representatives on March 9th,” the organization said in a response. “Every Republican candidate for governor, except Kay Ivey, returned our survey supporting the complete abolition of abortion. Dozens of candidates for state legislative offices did the same.”
It is common practice for issue-focused advocacy organizations to mail surveys to candidates seeking election to legislative and statewide constitutional offices. Oftentimes, candidates receive numerous surveys from organizations that advocate for the same issue.
Ivey, Robertson and Wood have each landed the endorsement of the Alabama Citizens for Life, which is the state’s largest pro-life organization. Additionally, Ivey holds the endorsement of both the Susan B. Anthony List and the National Right to Life.
The group continued, “Our members and supporters across the state want to know whether or not their state legislative candidates support abolishing abortion and providing equal protection for preborn children. If a candidate fails or refuses to return the survey, we simply ask our members and supporters to lobby that candidate asking them to go on record supporting this important issue.”
What is on the record is the final roll call vote which shows Robertson and Wood voting in favor of Alabama’s 2019 pro-life measure, followed by Ivey signing the bill into law.
In a statement provided to Yellowhammer News, Ivey noted that Alabama would have the “strongest” law in the nation that provides protections for the unborn once the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down Roe v. Wade.
“When Roe v. Wade is overturned, Alabama will have the nation’s strongest pro-life law on the books,” advised Ivey. “I’m proud to have led the way back in 2019 in signing a ban on abortion to make Alabama the safest place in America for the unborn.”
Wood also expressed her belief that “every life” should be protected by the law and that she would continue to support the right to life in her legislative capacities.
“I am proud to be a staunch pro-life conservative. That’s who I am and that’s who I’ll always be,” declared Wood. “Every life, no matter how small, should be protected at all cost.”
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
