"Governor Mark R. Warner and NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia, a women’s rights advocacy group, Monday criticized a deceptive campaign brochure produced by Republican State Senate candidate Kamal Nawash.

The brochure, which attacks incumbent State Senator Mary Margaret Whipple, charges that “Under her watch, Conservatives have chipped away at a woman’s right to choose.” All of the anti-choice measures cited in the brochure were passed by the Republican-controlled General Assembly and were consistently opposed by Senator Whipple.

The brochure also carries an unauthorized picture of Nawash alongside Governor Warner, who has endorsed Senator Whipple. “Senator Whipple is one of the most effective leaders in the General Assembly, and I wholeheartedly support her re-election,” the Governor said. “Any suggestion to the contrary is an attempt to mislead the voters.”

The brochure also portrays Nawash as an “Independent” and fails to identify him as the Republican nominee for the State Senate seat.

On Monday, NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia, which also has endorsed Senator Whipple for re-election, stated, “We are outraged at this weekend's mailing by Kamal Nawash. The cause of keeping abortion legal and keeping government out of this most private decision has no better friend than Senator Mary Margaret Whipple. To suggest otherwise is grossly inaccurate and unfair. Senator Whipple is the only choice for the 31st district.”

Also on Monday Ben Greenberg, Director of Government Relations for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia, stated that “Senator Mary Margaret Whipple is a true leader on behalf of the reproductive rights of all Virginians. In the Senate Education and Health Committee and on the floor of the Senate, she is an outspoken advocate of women's rights and a critic of anti-choice public policies that would restrict women's access to birth control and abortion. For her pro-choice leadership, Senator Whipple earned the endorsement of the Pro-choice PAC of Virginia in her 2003 re-election campaign." (Press Release, Authorized by Mary Margaret Whipple, October 27, 2003)