Two GOP legislators targets of anti-abortion ads
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
-- Michelle Cole
SALEM -- Three anti-abortion groups have purchased local newspaper ads criticizing Oregon House Speaker Karen Minnis, R-Wood Village, and House Majority Leader Wayne Scott, R-Canby, for endorsing a budget bill that includes taxpayer-funded abortions.
The ads take Minnis and Scott to task for voting for a Department of Human Services budget that, among other things, allocates $3.2 million to pay for abortions for women enrolled in the Oregon Health Plan.
The ads' sponsors include Believers Against Child Killing, headed by Paul deParrie, a longtime abortion protester; Oregonians for Life, co-founded by Mary Starrett, a former Portland radio and TV talk-show host; and Life Support, whose executive director is David Brownlow, a 2004 Constitution Party candidate for the U.S. Senate. The ads are scheduled to appear this week in the Oregon City News and Gresham Outlook.
A Minnis spokesman had no comment Tuesday. A spokeswoman for Scott said he was out of town and unavailable.
Lois Anderson, political director for Oregon Right to Life, said her group supports both Minnis and Scott. "There's no doubt about their commitment to pro-life issues," she said.
