President Barack Obama's campaign has launched its fifth television ad targeting Mitt Romney's pro-life views, Baptist Press reports. With polls showing most voters saying the country is on the wrong track, the Obama campaign has tried to make abortion an issue in swing states with the goal of energizing its base, particularly women voters. The latest Obama ad criticizes Romney's opposition to Roe v. Wade and his desire to pull federal funding for Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider. According to Michael Foust of Baptist Press, "Obama's five ads spotlighting abortion are unprecedented. Earlier this year Baptist Press watched every Democratic nominee's television ads from 1976-2008 -- that is, post-Roe v. Wade -- and found that only one other campaign (Bill Clinton's, 1996) discussed abortion in an ad, and that reference ('choice') came in a TV ad that was not abortion-centric but instead discussed several issues." Pro-life groups hope the Obama campaign's abortion spotlight will backfire by benefiting Romney -- that is, regularly reminding voters that Romney opposes Roe v. Wade.
