An Honest Woman of Strong Character

From Right Democrat:

Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper (D-PA) is fighting back strongly and aggressively against lies about her record on abortion spread through an ongoing media assault featuring false information and financed by private organizations with undisclosed donors. Armed with the facts and the truth, Dahlkemper is telling the 3rd District not to believe the lies her opponents are selling.

To counter these unconscionable attacks, the Dahlkemper campaign is currently airing one new television ad and one radio ad in 3rd District media outlets. The ads sternly refute the falsehoods being spread about the Congresswoman's staunch pro-life principles by political organizations that are not required to disclose their funders and pay no regard to the truth or the facts.

Watch and listen to the ads at the following links:
http://kathydahlkemperforcongress.com/videos/kathy-dahlkemper-life,
http://kathydahlkemperforcongress.com/videos/kathy-responds-attacks,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0OgCy921cA

"When you hear my opponents talk about my views on life, know that they are absolutely false,” Dahlkemper says in a television ad. “They should be ashamed to lie about this just to win an election.”

In the radio ad, Sister Mary, a Catholic nun who knows Kathy Dahlkemper personally, speaks out against the attacks, calling Kathy “an honest woman of strong character.”

Sister Mary makes a clear, unassailable statement affirming Kathy Dahlkemper’s pro-life values: “If anyone tells you that Kathy Dahlkemper is not a woman in favor of life, just know it is not true.”

“I am pro-life and I always have been. This is who I am. It is despicable that anyone would take this most sacred issue—the issue of life—and lie about it to gain points at the polls. Western Pennsylvanians deserve better than that,” said Dahlkemper. “These ads set the record straight about me and about the people who are willing to lie to win an election.”

With these new ads, Congresswoman Dahlkemper is personally explaining to 3rd District voters the truth about her lifelong pro-life beliefs, using facts, not falsehoods, about the new health care law. These news ads also make it clear that the Congresswoman will not allow any lie or misstatement to go unchallenged by the facts and the truth concerning her pro-life positions and record.

Congressmwoman Dahlkemper issued the following open letter earlier this year concerning her support for the health care reform and protecting the sanctity of human life:

"Dear Friends,

Protecting the unborn was, is and always will be one of my most deeply held personal values.

That's why when confronted with my own unplanned pregnancy at 21, I chose life. It's a decision I've never regretted.

I've taken my pro-life values with me to Washington and have fought to preserve the sanctity of life. I helped ensure that the first health care reform bill prevented federal funding of abortion. When the Senate refused to put those same protections in place for the unborn, I stood firm against pro-choice groups in Washington.

Pro-life Members of Congress like me kept a hard line: no federal funding could be used for elective abortion through the new health care reform. Period.

Our work paid off when the president signed a rock-solid executive order to do just that—clearly ban the use of federal funds for elective abortions in the new health care reform law.

Now, politically-motivated groups are making false claims that Pennsylvania's new high-risk insurance pool, which offers affordable health insurance to the people in our community who have been refused by private insurers because of a “pre-existing condition,” will use federal funds for elective abortions.

That is simply untrue.

The nonpartisan, independent fact-checking organization PolitiFact rated this claim as FALSE.

The Pennsylvania Insurance Department has clearly stated, “Pennsylvania will – and has always intended to – comply with the federal ban on abortion funding in the coverage provided through our federally funded high risk pool.”

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the federal agency who will provide the funding, has clearly said, “In Pennsylvania and in all other states abortions will not be covered in the Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) except in the cases of rape or incest, or where the life of the woman would be endangered.”

And just in case the message was not clear, I called on HHS Secretary Sebelius to explicitly tell the states that they must strictly follow the ban on federal funding of abortion, or lose their federal funding altogether.

It's all there in black & white: no federal funds will be used for elective abortions in Pennsylvania or anywhere else in the United States.

Preserving the sanctity of life is an issue that Western Pennsylvanians care about passionately, and so do I. That's why I wanted to give you the facts.

If you would like further information about this or any other topic, please email me or call my office at 1-877-KATHY 4U (528-4948).

Sincerely,

Kathy Dahlkemper"

See also here.