Back in April, Alaska Republican Senate primary voters got to listen to their three candidates try to figure out who the lifey-est candidate of all actually was. It’s been a gigantic run to the right on pro-life issues by the three men running for the office, each trying to be more hard core than the others.

They were asked whether they would support a so-called “personhood bill” called the Life at Conception Act introduced by Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) that defines life as beginning the moment that little swimmer cracks the eggshell. The bottom line of this bill is that it could end access to safe and legal abortion in the United States. So, considering that 1/3 of all women will have an abortion in her lifetime, it’s kind of a big deal.

Do you know this person?

Joe Miller was right out there in front. He’d already read the bill and was all about it. Yes! It is a person from the millisecond of conception on, with all the rights of a regular person. Except of course the woman carrying it. She doesn’t count.

Mead Treadwell and Dan Sullivan, however, had not read the bill. (insert incriminating musical chord progression here)

Joe Miller furrowed his brow and said that was “telling.”  They were not lifey enough.

So then, Mead Treadwell got a little flustered about all of Joe’s judginess and didn’t want to be out-lifed. Yes, he said. He would indeed support a bill that said life begins at the moment of conception! Even though he hadn’t read it. He knew all he needed to know.

Dan Sullivan said he’d need time to read the bill before he would answer the question.

To help him out a bit, and to make it very clear where he stands in this three-way all male race to the right, Planned Parenthood sent something to Dan Sullivan just to help him be prepared, and allow Alaskan voters to understand where he stands on this bill.

“To help Dan Sullivan clarify his position and finally read the Life at Conception Act, Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest (PPVNW) is sending a copy of the bill to Sullivan in the mail today, with a request that he state for Alaska voters exactly where he stands.

See copy of letter attached. Click here for photo of the letter being mailed and click here for a copy of the bill.

“By redefining ‘person’ in state law to include fertilized eggs, so-called ‘personhood’ efforts could interfere with personal, private medical decisions relating to birth control, access to fertility treatment, management of a miscarriage, and access to safe and legal abortion.  Indeed, ‘personhood’ is government gone too far, and the defeat of ‘personhood’ state constitutional amendments all across the country — from Colorado and Ohio to Mississippi and Oklahoma — sends a clear message:  health care decisions should be left to a woman, her family, her doctor, and her faith — not politicians,” said Jessica Cler, PPVNW Alaska public affairs manager.

That was two months ago.

U.S. Senate candidate Dan Sullivan

“These are obviously important issues. I think, from my perspective, I always do which Mark Begich hasn’t done, which a lot of legislators haven’t. I read things. I’m not going to opine on something thrown out… on Obamacare, right, nobody read that. I actually was one of the guys who sat down with a bunch of attorneys and read it before we sued on it. But one of the things I think most Alaskans, when I’m out campaigning, these are important issues. But so are the issues of jobs and the middle class and getting this country on the right track. And I think sometimes the Democrats love to throw out these issues…. bla bla bla…(spiral off the rails into rhetoric about bad Democrats and how they don’t want to talk about the real issues)