Oregon Public Broadcasting

Washington Governor Chris Gregoire has launched a series of new attack ads against Republican challenger Dino Rossi.

The Democratic Governor has aired hard-hitting commercials before, but these new spots focus Rossi’s positions on social issues. Correspondent Austin Jenkins truth squads the allegations.

The first ad deals with Plan B – also known as the morning-after pill. It features a doctor who says she sees a lot of patients in need.

Ad: “Never is that more true than when I look into the eyes of a woman who’s been sexually assaulted. They’re scared and many are desperate for emergency contraception. That’s why I’m appalled by the views of politicians like Dino Rossi. He’d allow pharmacists to deny emergency contraception to a victim of rape.”

It’s true. Rossi opposes a requirement that pharmacists dispense drugs like the morning-after pill if doing so violates their conscience.

This is currently the subject of a lawsuit in Washington State. But according to Rossi’s campaign he supports a rule that says pharmacists must refer patients to another pharmacy to obtain the prescription.

Two other Gregoire ads deal with stem cell research. One version shows a man with Parkinson’s. The other features an emotional mother of a child with diabetes.

Ad: “I know a diabetic child has a shorter life span than other kids, but stem cell research gives us hope. So I get upset when a politician like Dino Rossi says he’s against stem cell research.”

A key word is missing in this ad: embryonic. Rossi, who is Catholic, does oppose embryonic stem cell research which involves destroying an embryo. But says he supports using adult stem cells to seek cures for disease.

Recently researchers have found adult stem cells show more promise than previously thought.

Why are stem cells and Plan B even issues in the Washington governor’s race? Rossi says he’s not running on these issues. In fact he casts himself as a moderate.

But Gregoire hopes to paint Rossi as a social conservative.

Online:

Gregoire Ads