Fredericksburg: Anti-abortion group backs Reeves, targets Houck

This article first appeared online at Fredericksburg.com on October 26, 2011.

Anti-abortion group backs Reeves, targets Houck

Another anti-abortion group is taking aim at state Sen. Edd Houck in this year’s election.

The Susan B. Anthony List Candidate Fund, which describes itself as a “national pro-life political action committee”, said in a news release today that it will spend $25,000 campaigning against Houck in the 17th state Senate district. The group is also endorsing Houck’s opponent, Republican Bryce Reeves, along with three other Senate candidates. The group hopes to put more pro-life senators in office, they said, and end any state funding of Planned Parenthood.

“Senator Houck has been a consistent ally to the pro-abortion movement, blocking pro-life legislation from even reaching the floor for debate,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, the group’s president, in the release. “Defeating Senator Houck is a top priority for the SBA List Candidate Fund and it is our hope that our targeted media program, including newspaper and radio ad campaigns, will encourage voters to replace him with Bryce Reeves, a committed pro-life candidate.”

Houck’s position as chairman of the Senate Education and Health committee has earned him quite a bit of attention from anti-abortion groups in this year’s election (he became chairman after the last Senate election four years ago).  Most bills related to abortion go through that committee, which has a long record of killing most of them (including when Republicans held the chairmanship and majority).

Two Virginia groups, the Fredericksburg-based No Excuse Ministry PAC and Virginia Christian Action (a part of the Virginia Christian Alliance) have also been campaigning against Houck on similar issues this fall. (Terry Beatley, who runs the No Excuse Ministry, says her issue with Houck is not just that he has voted against abortion restrictions, but that he has not supported bills to strengthen parental rights.)

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