AC

The political arm of Planned Parenthood officially endorsed President Barack Obama on Wednesday, and simultaneously announced a seven-figure ad buy targeting Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. The $1.7 million television ad campaign, which will run in markets in Florida, Virginia, Washington D.C. and Iowa through June 19 , criticizes Romney for pledging to end federal funding to the reproductive health group. Planned Parenthood has long been a target of Republicans because it provides abortion services and access to contraception at its clinics. The 30-second ad, titled "Out of Touch," is part of a larger effort to cast Romney as a candidate whose policies would be bad for women, a criticism that Obama and other Democrats have leveled throughout the year. "Unlike President Obama, what Mitt Romney doesn't seem to understand is that women's health issues are economic issues for women and families," said Planned Parenthood Action Fund President Cecile Richards in a...