Watch New “51 vs 60” Ad
Campaign Features Full Page Ad in The New York Times
WASHINGTON, DC — Today, the Fix Our Senate coalition, representing 85 organizations with tens of millions of members across the country announced the launch of a six-figure campaign calling for an end to the filibuster, because as long as the Senate rules are rigged, abortion access is at risk nationwide. This is particularly true in light of the recent Supreme Court decision to allow the Texas abortion ban to be implemented. The campaign will kick off with television and digital ads running in national, Washington D.C. and Arizona media markets as well as a full page ad in The New York Times on Thursday, October 14.
The new ad comes after the House of Representatives passed the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would protect the right to access abortion. The bill is now in the Senate, where the filibuster is the compounding roadblock of a procedurally broken Senate.
The full ad, titled “51 vs. 60,” is viewable here.
Desireé Luckey, Director of Policy, and Monica Edwards, Federal Policy Manager, at URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity and Coalition Member of Fix Our Senate stated:
"We are organizing day in and day out to put a permanent stop to the unconstitutional bans that states like Texas are placing on our bodies. Unfortunately, the right to have an abortion will remain in peril as long as the filibuster remains intact — our broken democratic structures are blocking progress at every turn.
“Senator McConnell only needed fifty-one votes to pack the Supreme Court with three ultra-conservative justices -- it’s clear that we should only need fifty-one votes to protect our right to abortion access and make choices for our bodies. Senate Democrats, who say they support reproductive rights but remain silent on or against the filibuster, are supporting reproductive rights in name only.
“We deserve federal legislation to protect abortion access, and that requires a path forward, free from the filibuster.”
The ad script is below:
“Fifty-one. That’s how many votes it took for Mitch McConnell to pack the Supreme Court with three more far-right justices -- who let the nation's most restrictive abortion ban take effect.
“Gutting access for millions, and endangering our health care. But to protect it, the rules are different.
“Only fifty-one votes to imperil abortion access. A sixty-vote hurdle to protect it.
“As long as the Senate rules are rigged, abortion access is vulnerable.
“Our health care should matter more.”