Jon Ossoff Slams Opponent On Planned Parenthood Drama In Georgia Congress Debate
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By Dave Goldiner June 7, 2017
Jon Ossoff slammed his Republican opponent for a controversy involving breast cancer screenings and Planned Parenthood in their first debate in the high-stakes Georgia special election for Congress.
The Jewish Democrat slammed Karen Handel for her actions as an official of the Susan G. Komen Foundation when she sought to cut ties with the women’s health group even though funding wasn’t going to abortion services.
“She imposed her own views and cut off funding for breast cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood,” Ossoff said, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
“I have been working on women’s health issues for nearly my entire life,” Handel shot back. “I will not be lectured by you or anyone else.”
The suburban Atlanta race is a virtual dead heat and analysts said there was no clear cut winner in the debate. The June 20 run-off is seen as a key test for President Trump since the seat has been in GOP hands for years.
But Ossoff sought to avoid making Trump the key issue in the debate and took pains to reach out to moderate Republican voters, who led to Trump only carrying the district by 1% in November.
He parried charges by Handel that he would be soft on Iran because he supports President Obama’s nuclear deal.
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
- Alyssa Katz, Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
