A new ad in a Maryland state legislature race used an image of a young child in a hospital bed to push a pro-abortion agenda.
The ad, posted by the progressive Maryland Accountability Project and paid for by the Maryland House Democratic Caucus Committee, included a stock photograph of a little girl lying in a hospital bed with a teddy bear and a nasal cannula in her nose. The ad copy, written in the voice of the girl, claimed Republican state House candidate Doug Rathell “would rather let me suffer than allow me to have an abortion.”
“The fight for a woman’s right to choose has never been more dire,” the ad’s caption read. “Vote NO on Doug Rathell.”
Maryland Democrats using stock photos of 8 year olds with cancer to put out political hits. Pretty disgusting @mddems #mdpolitics pic.twitter.com/oIJbJUZQ8t
— Change Annapolis PAC (@AnnapolisChange) October 5, 2022
The image is available through the stock photo service alamy.com, where its description reads, “Portrait of hospitalized sick girl child patient holding teddy bear resting in bed during medical consultation in hospital ward. Alone kid wearing oxygen nasal tube waiting for disease examination.” The description does not mention abortion or pregnancy.
Rathell said in a statement to the Daily Caller that this advertisement is “disgusting” and “false.”
“This advertisement is not only disgusting and disgraceful, it is also false. I find it even harder to believe that this advertisement would be ran against a 17-year veteran Paramedic. I took an oath to conserve life, alleviate suffering, promote health, do no harm, while providing quality and equal care. I serve in the community where my opponents reside and this is their thoughts? The accusations are untrue and unfounded.”
With the midterm elections around the corner, Democrats have centered their campaigns around the issue of abortion following the June Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. Later that summer, Democrats amplified a story of a 10-year-old Ohio girl who had to travel to another state to obtain an abortion.
Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers attempted to hold a special session in the legislature in an effort to repeal the state’s 1849 abortion ban, but Republican lawmakers ended the session Tuesday just 15 seconds after it began.
In Virginia, a Democratic office seeker is running an ad that includes a woman who was raped when she was 17, The Washington Post reported. In Michigan, a referendum that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution is on the November ballot.
Despite Democrats’ focus on the issue, it remains unclear how large an effect it will have on the midterms. A recent Monmouth poll found that 82% of Americans listed inflation as an “extremely important” or “very important” issue, while just 56% said the same about abortion. The poll was conducted from Sept. 21 to 25 and has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.
The Maryland House Democratic Caucus Committee did not respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.
