For Immediate Release: October 17, 2012

Media Contact Bill Law: (260) 602-3717

Tom Keen Stands Strong for Hoosier Women Blasts opponent for slashing funding to Planned Parenthood FORT WAYNE During todays press conference, Candidate for State Senate, Tom Keen, firmly showed his support for womens health issues. The conference was held outside the Fort Wayne Planned Parenthood Health Center. Every day in Indiana, 31 teenagers get pregnant. said Keen. Educating our youth and providing them with access to preventative health care and contraception are important factors in tackling teen pregnancy. Yet my opponent voted against funding for Planned Parenthood which would deny thousands of women access to affordable contraception, preventative health care, and life-saving cancer screenings. His behavior is in complete opposition to empowering and educating our youth and the women in Indiana. Keen also advocated for the affordable access to cancer screenings that are offered at Planned Parenthood. He noted that many women are uninsured or underinsured and that without the services offered by Planned Parenthood, they might have to wait to see a doctor until it too late to offer treatment. Keen continued, My opponent's track record shows he is not on board with programs and organizations that will tackle teen pregnancy, increase women's access to health care and empower women to be active agents over their lives and bodies. Policy-makers, such as my opponent, who espouse family-values are the same individuals who are blatantly ignoring families living in poverty, programs that will benefit our youth and voting against family planning. This hypocrisy cannot be tolerated any longer and we must re-examine and focus our attention on what's important. said Keen.

Tom Keen is a decorated military Veteran and resident of Fort Wayne. He is running to represent District 16 in the Indiana State Senate. Tom and his wife Laura have been married for 23 years and have two college aged children. Tom is active in several veteran service organizations; he is a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and Disabled American Veterans (DAV). He is also a member of the American Legion, Military Officers Association of America, United States Naval Institute, and the Fort Wayne Base Community Council. Tom currently serves on the Board of Directors of Fort Waynes Science Central.
###