Planned Parenthood rolls out swing state ad blitz over Ginsburg legacy

Planned Parenthood is launching a swing state ad blitz over the fight to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. 

The group announced Tuesday it will run the digital ads in Arizona, Florida, Michigan and Pennsylvania, four crucial battlegrounds in the presidential election, and that the video will be featured in other swing states in the coming days. 

The ad, titled “Legacy,” is the result of a six-figure buy and says a Trump nominee to fill Ginsburg’s seat would likely work against the liberal priorities the late justice had espoused for decades.

“An American icon. A champion of women’s rights. Donald Trump wants to replace her with another Supreme Court justice before the election, against her dying wish,” a narrator says in the ad, referencing remarks from Ginsburg’s granddaughter that she wanted to be replaced by a new president. 

“Threatening coverage for preexisting conditions and reproductive freedom, just like he said he would. We can’t let it happen. Not to her legacy. Not to her seat. Not to our health. Not now. Not ever. Take action. Vote.” 

Planned Parenthood is just the latest group to roll out an ad campaign centered around the newest Supreme Court vacancy as advocacy groups and Democratic super PACs look to energize the party base in the final sprint to the election. 

Democrats have howled over Republican efforts to move quickly to fill the vacancy after the GOP blocked President Obama from replacing Justice Antonin Scalia after his death in 2016, the last presidential election year. 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) appeared to garner the votes needed to meet the 50-vote threshold in the Senate after Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), seen as the last of a small handful of potential swing votes, announced he would be open to confirming a Supreme Court pick this year. 

Only two Republicans have indicated opposition to filling the seat before the election.

A Trump pick on the court could shift its balance to a solid 6-3 conservative majority.

“This is the fight of our lives for tens of millions of people across the country. A week after the election, the Supreme Court is set to hear a case that could dismantle the Affordable Care Act, the biggest advance for sexual and reproductive health in a generation,” said Jenny Lawson, executive director of Planned Parenthood Votes, referencing upcoming hearings on health care and abortion. 

“If Trump succeeds in filling this seat, his pick could be the deciding vote on civil rights, environmental protections, and access to health care, including abortion,” she added. “If we are to protect Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s legacy, our health, and our rights, we must kick Donald Trump out of office and take back the Senate. Planned Parenthood Votes and our supporters will not rest until we do.”