Fetterman to hold campaign rally with Planned Parenthood, 'defund the police' activist on 9/11 anniversary

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Mehmet Oz doubles down in attacking Fetterman for backing out of debate

GOP Pennsylvania Senate candidate Mehmet Oz says opponent Lt. Gov. John Fetterman is either lying about his health or is afraid to defend his policies in a public forum after the Democrat backed out of a debate citing his ongoing stroke recovery.

John Fetterman, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, will hold a rally on the anniversary of 9/11 with Planned Parenthood featuring an activist who pushed for defunding police.

Fetterman announced this week that Planned Parenthood would hold a Women for Fetterman event with Planned Parenthood Action Fund President Alexis McGill Johnson, who said in 2020 that "we must keep demanding change, including the call to defund the police."

The event will highlight Fetterman's support for abortion, and the description for the rally says the "stakes for reproductive freedom in Pennsylvania have never been higher. That’s why this rally is so important. The more people who come out to this event, the stronger our campaign's message for reproductive freedom will be."

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The Fetterman campaign sells shirts in bright pink emblazoned with "FETTERWOMAN" on the front, a play on the candidate's name.

Nearly 3,000 people died in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. In the past two decades, memorial services on the 9/11 anniversary have highlighted the heroic deeds of police, firefighters and other law enforcement officers and first responders. 

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Fetterman has made abortion a key part of his campaign, attacking Republican nominee Mehmet Oz for his pro-life positions. 

"We *need* to stand together to protect reproductive freedom against extreme attacks from Dr. Oz + the GOP," Fetterman tweeted to announce the Planned Parenthood event.

Fetterman’s past statements and record on police and prison reform have come under scrutiny, while Oz has drawn attention to crime, which he says is a crucial issue for Pennsylvania voters.

Fetterman has called for an end to mandatory life sentences for second-degree murder convicts. As lieutenant governor, he supported reducing Pennsylvania’s prison population by a third.

Since suffering a stroke in May, days before the Democratic primary he won, Fetterman has been mostly absent from the campaign trail, though he has recently delivered short speeches and participated in Labor Day marches to show support for unions.

Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. and Democratic Senate nominee John Fetterman speaks to a crowd gathered at a United Steel Workers of America Labor Day event with President Biden in West Mifflin, Pa., just outside Pittsburgh, Sept. 5, 2022.   (AP Photo/Rebecca Droke)

Oz has called attention to Fetterman's recovery, which has apparently contributed to his hesitancy to debate the Republican candidate. Oz told Fox News Digital that either Fetterman is unable to debate — and would then seem unfit for work in the Senate representing Pennsylvania — or he is afraid to defend his policies to voters.

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Fetterman said he is committed to debating Oz in the middle or end of October and said his recovery was the main reason for delaying candidate forums. 

"It was just simply only ever been about addressing some of the lingering issues of the stroke, the auditory processing, and we’re going to be able to work that out," Fetterman told Politico this week.

Fetterman's campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.