Katie Britt is defending her pro-life record following an attack ad by fellow U.S. Senate candidate Mike Durant.
“She let abortion pills be supplied to teenagers,” the Durant ad said, in reference to recent stories on the passage of a 2003 resolution by the student body association requesting that the Morning After pill be available at the University of Alabama’s health center while Britt was SGA president.
Britt did not veto the resolution, a fact that was drawn to light in a recent news article by 1819 News, and publicized further by Durant’s campaign.
“Alabama needs a pro-life conservative fighter in the Senate to ensure we overturn Roe v. Wade, not weak-kneed insider Katie Boyd Britt,” Scott Stone, a Durant spokesperson, said in a statement to AL.com
In the fall of 2003, Britt vetoed a resolution about parking ticket procedures. Around the same time, she did not veto a resolution about providing Morning After pills. Her decision about the parking matter led the SGA to review the question of whether the president had veto power, according to reports from that period from the UA campus newspaper.
“I think the SGA president should have the opportunity to veto legislation that he or she does not agree with, and currently it is unclear whether the SGA president could do that,” Britt said to The Crimson White in early 2004. “I would have questioned more resolutions if this discrepancy was cleared up.”
Morning After pills are a form of emergency contraception that stop ovulation and fertilization to prevent pregnancy. The pills do not harm an existing pregnancy, according to Yale University.
The anti-Britt attack ad began running just over a week before the May 24 the Alabama Republican Primary.
Britt is reiterating her pro-life beliefs in response.
“As a Christian, conservative wife and mother of two precious children, I am proud to be 100% pro-life. Both my faith and the science tell me that life begins at conception, and I’ll fight tirelessly to protect life in the Senate,” Britt said.
“Over 63 million innocent unborn babies have been murdered in America since the disastrous Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, and my family and I are praying that the Supreme Court finally overturns Roe this year and allows states like Alabama to defend life.”
In a statement to AL.com, Britt’s campaign said Britt had no involvement in the passage of the SGA resolution.
Stone, with Durant’s campaign, called Britt a political insider and said she will say whatever is needed to get elected.
“Britt’s campaign is fueled by pro-abortion donors and the Washington Establishment who support her due to her go along get along track record that includes giving teenagers greater access to abortion pills,” said the Durant campaign.
More than $22 million in outsider spending has benefitted all three of the candidates in the U.S. Senate race.
Britt has surpassed Durant in recent polls following weeks of attack ads against him.
Britt’s spokesperson, Sean Ross, said the Durant ad questioning her pro-life stance is the sign of a desperate campaign.
“Katie’s momentum is surging because Alabamians know that she’ll fight for our Christian conservative values, defend the sacred right to life, and advance the America First agenda. Mike Durant is trying to deceive the people of Alabama, and he’s hiding behind a narrator to do it, just like he hid from a debate.”
Update: This story was updated at 8:36 p.m. Tuesday to include more information about Britt’s veto of the parking ticket resolution and the debate over the SGA president’s veto power