Advocacy groups wage newspaper ad battle on Clinton health plan p. 25

By: Dorothy Giobbe IN A PRECURSOR to the imminent legislative battle over the Clinton health care program's inclusion of abortion services, advocacy groups on both sides of the issue are waging advertising campaigns designed to sway public sentiment.
The Washington-based Christian Coalition has launched the first volley, with full-page ads denouncing the Clinton proposal in the Washington Post, Roll Call and Shreveport, La., Times.
Clinton's plan proposes that abortion coverage be included in a basic package of pregnancy-related services that insurance companies must offer. Currently, private insurance coverage for abortion is optional.
Christian Coalition communications director Mike Russell said the organization plans to launch "the biggest ad campaign that the Christian Coalition has ever undertaken."
Russell said the group has an advertising budget of $1.4 million.
"We don't really know how much will go to newspapers, but obviously we want to put the ad in as many major publications as we can," he said.
While the Christian Coalition has a head start, Planned Parenthood Federation has vowed to counterattack with a $10 million multimedia ad campaign, of which approximately 40% will be set aside for newspaper ads.
"It's going to be a whopper," vowed Pamela Maraldo, president of Planned Parenthood.
"I saw the [Christian Coalition] ad in the Washington Post, and frankly, in terms of credibility, I thought there was a lot of misinformation, unfair slant and bias."
Maraldo added that Planned Parenthood's print ads will begin running by April 1 in newspapers in major markets.
?( Christian Coalition ad) [Photo & Caption]