Planned Parenthood Backs Missy Cotter Smasal in Battleground Congressional Race 

Abortion rights was a key issue for Virginia voters in 2023 and will continue to dominate the 2024 elections

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA – Missy Cotter Smasal, a Navy veteran, former small business owner, and mom, earned a pivotal endorsement from Planned Parenthood Action Fund. As first reported by Politico, Missy’s backing from the largest abortion rights advocacy group comes just two weeks after Missy made the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s coveted Red to Blue List.

Abortion rights played a central role in Virginia’s recent November election, where both sides heavily campaigned and spent money on the issue. Ultimately voters overwhelmingly turned out to elect Democrats fighting to protect reproductive freedom and resoundingly rejected anti-abortion Republicans. 

This is alarming for anti-choice Jen Kiggans, who voted to take away resources from active duty servicemembers forced to travel out-of-state to get an abortion despite representing over 80,000 veterans in Coastal Virginia. Kiggans has called abortion a “shiny object” and compared having an abortion to getting a “nose job.” She also voted for MAGA Speaker Mike Johnson, who wants to ban abortion nationwide without exceptions for rape, incest, or the life of a mother.

“I am committed to protecting abortion rights and bodily autonomy,” said Missy Cotter Smasal, candidate for Virginia’s Second Congressional District. “I welcome Planned Parenthood’s support and am thankful for their advocacy on these essential issues. Virginia is the only state in the south without an abortion ban since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade and when I talk to voters, they’re deeply concerned about their rights being taken away. Voters don’t want politicians like Jen Kiggans infringing on their personal decisions and threatening their healthcare. I will fight against the national abortion ban Republicans want to impose on Virginians. As women across the country face medical emergencies and even death because of anti-abortion legislation, Coastal Virginians know that I will fight to protect them from this assault on their reproductive rights.”