Ad Watch: Sen. Murray's ad on abortion

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Time: 30 seconds

Images: Murray at the table with senior citizens. Young woman with doctor. Headlines from newspaper editorials. Researchers in a lab. Anti-abortion protesters. Woman being booked into jail. Unflattering photo of George Nethercutt.

Audio: (Female announcer) When so many are suffering from diseases like diabetes and Alzheimer's, how could George Nethercutt buckle under to party leaders and oppose funding for life-saving stem-cell research? How could Nethercutt swear allegiance to the Christian right and oppose a woman's right to choose, even in cases of rape or incest? Nethercutt wants to hold back science and turn back the clock. (Sound effect: alarm buzzing.) George Nethercutt — just too extreme for Washington.

Analysis: On the mudslinging scale, the image of a woman being booked into jail rivals Nethercutt's own use of Osama bin Laden's photo in his anti-Murray ads. Nethercutt has not explicitly voted to criminalize most abortions, although his record shows he is clearly in the anti-abortion camp. He did support the controversial late-term-abortion ban signed into law last year, a measure that includes jail terms of up to two years for doctors who violate the ban. The law has been overturned in federal court, but the issue is under appeal. In the Senate, Nethercutt also would be in a position to confirm anti-abortion judges.

Nethercutt says he opposes government funding of abortions except in cases of rape or incest. But the ad correctly notes he voted in 1996 against a measure that would have protected state Medicaid funding in such cases.

With regard to stem-cell research, Nethercutt has voted against allowing scientists to use human embryos to make stem cells. He supports President Bush's policy of allowing federal funding for research on existing stem-cell lines, which would not require creating new embryos. He also has been a leader in seeking federal funding for diabetes research.

— Jim Brunner, staff reporter

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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