Planned Parenthood: Romney proxy wrong on health law, cancer

Planned Parenthood condemned Mitt Romney after a campaign surrogate said the healthcare law would have spoiled her treatment for breast cancer.

On CNN, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina had mentioned her struggle with cancer and said the Affordable Care Act "would have been very deleterious" to her health.

Planned Parenthood Action Fund (PPAF) called the comments "irresponsible and completely false." 

"Mitt Romney should immediately denounce these claims," PPAF President Cecile Richards said in a statement. "The Affordable Care Act will give millions of women access to cancer screenings and treatment."

The law requires insurance companies to cover mammograms every year, without charging a copay or deductible, for women 40 and older.

Fiorina had sought to tie the law to what she described as poorer women's healthcare in Canada and the United Kingdom.

"They don't focus on prevention and aggressive detection in the same way we do," she said. "The new protocols that have come down as a result of ObamaCare would have been very deleterious to my personal health."

Planned Parenthood's political arm is frequent and vocal in its criticism of Romney, who has said that as president, he would "get rid of" the group.

Statements attacking the former Massachusetts governor often cite his remark, during a GOP primary debate, that he is not sure the Supreme Court decided correctly in Griswold v. Connecticut, which struck down state restrictions on birth control.

The group also notes Romney's opposition to abortion rights and the contraceptive coverage mandate.

"Mitt Romney owes women an honest explanation for why he wants to take lifesaving benefits away," Richards said.

Fiorina last made headlines for losing to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) in 2010.

—This post was updated Thursday at 10:16 a.m.