Jon Ossoff Slams Opponent On Planned Parenthood Drama In Georgia Congress Debate

By Dave Goldiner June 7, 2017

Jon Ossoff slammed his Republican opponent for a controversy involving breast cancer screenings and Planned Parenthood in their first debate in the high-stakes Georgia special election for Congress.

The Jewish Democrat slammed Karen Handel for her actions as an official of the Susan G. Komen Foundation when she sought to cut ties with the women’s health group even though funding wasn’t going to abortion services.

“She imposed her own views and cut off funding for breast cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood,” Ossoff said, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

“I have been working on women’s health issues for nearly my entire life,” Handel shot back. “I will not be lectured by you or anyone else.”

The suburban Atlanta race is a virtual dead heat and analysts said there was no clear cut winner in the debate. The June 20 run-off is seen as a key test for President Trump since the seat has been in GOP hands for years.

But Ossoff sought to avoid making Trump the key issue in the debate and took pains to reach out to moderate Republican voters, who led to Trump only carrying the district by 1% in November.

He parried charges by Handel that he would be soft on Iran because he supports President Obama’s nuclear deal.

Dave Goldiner is the Forward’s director of digital media. Dave is a veteran journalist who has spent two decades working at newspapers in the United States and Africa. A native New Yorker, Goldiner wrote for the New York Daily News, where he covered some of the biggest stories of our time, including the attacks of September 11, along with thousands of stories of hope and heartbreak. He also studied and worked in Southern Africa and has written for publications in South Africa and Zimbabwe. He holds masters degrees in journalism and public administration from Columbia University. Dave can be reached at goldiner@forward.com, or follow him on Twitter @davegoldiner

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