Democrats spotlight women's health issues

The issue is figuring prominently in races in Colorado and New Hampshire, where Democratic incumbents are highlighting their differences with Republican challengers.

The Associated Press: Democrats Reprise Pitches For Reproductive Rights
When U.S. Sen. Mark Udall aired the first television ad of his re-election campaign in April, the spot did not list his accomplishments, or otherwise argue why voters should send him back to Washington for a second term. Instead, it went after his challenger, Republican Rep. Cory Gardner, on his opposition to abortion rights. Six months later, Udall and his allies are still filling the airwaves with ads hammering Gardner on abortion. ... It's the most prominent example of how, from Alaska to Florida, reproductive rights have taken center stage in Democratic campaigns (Riccardi, 10/3).

Reuters: In U.S. Senate Battles, Democrats See Votes In Women's Health
U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen walked into a roomful of largely Democratic New Hampshire women voters with a simple pitch: She would be more focused on their issues than her challenger, Scott Brown, the former Republican U.S. senator for Massachusetts. "We need to make sure that women and families understand what the choice here is because this is a close race," Shaheen told supporters after collecting the endorsement of the state chapter of abortion rights activist group NARAL. Shaheen is one of the three Democratic incumbent female U.S. senators up for re-election in November (Malone and Jenkins, 10/6).

Kaiser Health News: Health On The Hill: Republicans Focus On Contraception To Woo Women Voters
Kaiser Health News staff writers Mary Agnes Carey and Julie Rovner discuss a new pitch by Republican candidates to make the birth control pill available without a prescription (10/5).

Meanwhile, Republicans continue to make repealing the health law a campaign issue -

CBS News: As Midterm Elections Loom, GOP Continues Pushing Obamacare Repeal
Though Republicans vowed to make the president's health care law a central fixture of the 2014 midterm elections, the issue has recently receded somewhat from the campaign trail, especially as a variety of foreign policy issues move to the fore. The president, for his part, has taken to highlighting what he sees as the law's successes (Miller, 10/4).