State Sen. Michael Baumgartner (R-WA)
In it, he also decided to casually imply that, because Cantwell is not married, she frequently votes to “undermine the role of parents in child rearing,” the Seattle Times reports:
[S]en. Maria Cantwell’s Republican challenger criticized her support for making Plan B emergency contraceptives widely available to younger teen girls, noting that Cantwell is unmarried and saying she has frequently voted to “undermine the role of parents in child rearing.”
In an email to supporters Thursday, State Sen. Michale Baumgartner, a Spokane freshman, said Cantwell’s position on the so-called “morning after pill” shows her to be an extreme liberal who is left of most Washington voters.
“Cantwell is so extreme that she doesn’t see anything wrong with 11 year-old girls getting Plan B without a prescription,” Baumgartner wrote.
Baumgartner, who has a 6-year-old son, said “he mentioned Cantwell’s marital status to contrast her position with Obama’s,” whom he noted has two daughters. Baumgartner told the Huffington Post that the mention of Cantwell’s marital status didn’t mean she was “unqualified to have an opinion on Plan B.” “She’s certainly qualified to talk about this issue and I didn’t mean to imply otherwise. I just agree with the President and [Health and Human Services] Secretary [Kathleen Sebelius] on this one.”
Cantwell’s campaign replied that “the Plan B decision should be based on the best available science. Washington voters support protecting women’s health. You don’t need to be married to know that Baumgartner’s anti-choice position is out of touch.”
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