Actress Elizabeth Banks shared her personal experience with Planned Parenthood, showing her praise for President Obama's record on women's issues, in a new Web video released by his campaign Wednesday.
"Planned Parenthood is something I care very deeply about. Planned Parenthood was my healthcare provider when I didn't have health insurance … I'm really grateful that they exist and that they provide essential services for women all over the country," Banks says in the video.
The "Hunger Games" star goes on to criticize presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney for his stance on the women's-healthcare provider.
"These services that they [Planned Parenthood] provide — what is it, 95 percent of them don't involve anything controversial, so for that little 5 percent that Mitt Romney decides he doesn't agree with, he's going to take away cancer screenings? What is he doing? He's going to take people's access to healthcare close by? We're talking about working-class ladies who need healthcare," she says.
Banks advocates for Obama's reelection, saying he "has not compromised on women's rights."
Democrats and the Obama campaign have repeatedly hammered Romney over remarks he made in March, saying he would "get rid of" funding for Planned Parenthood as part of deficit reduction.
Planned Parenthood endorsed Obama's reelection in May, and the group launched a $1.4 million ad buy blasting Romney.
The video's release comes ahead of a campaign stop in Denver on Wednesday, to, in part, highlight expanded coverage for women under Obama's signature healthcare law, with Georgetown University law graduate Sandra Fluke set to introduce the president.
Fluke was pushed into the political spotlight in February, when she was denied the right to testify at a House Oversight Committee hearing on the mandate, but a week later was invited to speak at a separate hearing organized by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
Talk show host Rush Limbaugh brought even more attention to her, calling Fluke a “slut” and a “prostitute” on his show, which sparked rebuke from both sides of the aisle and prompted Obama to call the Georgetown student to offer his support.
Obama's healthcare legislation initially required that employers provide birth control to employees without a co-pay, but was later changed to allow exceptions to the contraception mandate after critics blasted the law for violating religious liberty. The mandate went into effect six days ago and is being contested in the courts by a slew of lawsuits from religious groups.
