I'm thinking this framing could help Obama with men.
When Mitt Romney says Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided and that his Supreme Court picks would overturn it, he is arguing against the constitutional right to privacy. In essence, Romney wants individual states empowered to take away your right to privacy.
From the transcript of a Republican debate, here's the money quote:
STEPHANOPOULOS: But you’ve got the Supreme Court decision [Griswold v. Connecticut] finding a right to privacy in the Constitution.
ROMNEY: I don’t believe they decided that correctly. In my view, Roe v. Wade was improperly decided. It was based upon that same principle. And in my view, if we had justices like Roberts, Alito, Thomas, and Scalia, and more justices like that, they might well decide to return this issue to states as opposed to saying it’s in the federal Constitution.
According to Mitt Romney, there is no constitutional right to privacy.
Nope. It's not there. Not for women. Not for GLBT people. The implications of overturning the right to privacy could extend far and wide. Let people use their own imaginations.
(continued below)
Planned Parenthood used footage from the aforementioned debate in a TV ad about contraception.
I think this is a very effective video. But I also think that focusing on Romney's desire to take away our right to privacy could possible appeal more to men, since the implications could extend beyond reproductive health and reproductive rights.
It would also help people understand the link between Roe v Wade and the legality of contraception. In general, the public doesn't believe that Republican politicians seek to outlaw contraception. But people know that most GOPers want to overturn Roe v. Wade, and the only way most practical way to do so is for a landmark ruling against the right to privacy. Alternatively, Romney also supports a constitutional amendment to criminalize a women's right to choose [Italics: updated text]
Finally, it bears notice that Robert Bork is the co-chair for Mitt Romney's Justice Advisory Committee. He (like Scalia) thinks there is no right to privacy. Tedd Kennedy famously speechified about "Robert Bork's America" during Bork's SCOTUS confirmation hearing in 1987, when the Senate voted against confirmation with several Republicans joining Democrats.
Recently, People For the American Way released a TV ad hitting Romney over SCOTUS, abortion and Bork.
PFAW even has a website focusing on what Bork means for a Romney Supreme Court