By Heather Grossmann
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Planned Parenthood of New York does not believe that Harold Ford Jr. knows what “pro-choice” means, bad news for a man who wants to be senator of a state that consistently votes for a woman’s right to choose.
The potential U.S. Senate Candidate has been repeatedly quoted as saying he is "pro-life," but Ford insists that his use of the term was misunderstood.
He says he was not referring to abortion rights, he was just trying to reappropriate the term “pro-life” from anti-abortion groups to give it a more positive connotation.
But Planned Parenthood doesn't believe it.
As Ford rounded out a series of meet-and-greets with politicians and voters across the state, the health care and advocacy organization put out a statement Thursday saying it wanted to clarify the meaning of “pro-choice” as Ford “travels around New York State contradicting himself.”
Planned Parenthood President Tracey Brooks said Ford's record — including votes to ban abortion procedures and limiting access to health care for minors — did not reflect the interests of women’s health. She pointed to the numerous times the former Tennessee congressman was quoted as saying he is pro-life.
“In New York our representatives who go to Washington are our champions for women’s rights. It doesn’t matter if it’s difficult or if it’s unpopular,” Brooks told DNAinfo on Friday, noting that 70 percent of New Yorkers support a woman's right to choose.
"A pro-choice elected official always works to uphold these rights — not just when it is politically expedient."
But Ford's camp is sticking to its guns.
“Harold Ford is and always has been a supporter of abortion rights,” Ford's spokesman Davidson Goldin said.
Both Planned Parenthood of New York and sister organization NARAL of New York City have endorsed Ford’s rival, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who has already begun to make her pro-choice stance a major part of her campaign.
“The fact is, as a conservative congressman from Tennessee, Harold Ford voted more often with George Bush than with pro-choice groups like NARAL,” Gillibrand spokesman Jefrey Pollock said in an e-mail.
“That fact tells New Yorkers something important and troubling about Tennessee Harold Ford.”
