Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor and U.S. Senate Candidate John attends Labor Day Celebration with President Joe Biden at National Steelworkers Local Union 2227 in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, USA on September 5, 2022 Mr Fetterman. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) – Democratic U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman plans to advocate for abortion rights at a rally outside Philadelphia on Sunday after suffering a stroke earlier this year. and try to quell health concerns.

Pennsylvania’s Lieutenant Governor Fetterman has been out of the race since he said he nearly died from a stroke in May. His Republican rival, health luminary Mehmet Oz, has taken note of the issue, suggesting that Fetterman’s health condition would prevent him from carrying out his duties if elected. there is

Polls show Fetterman leading Oz in the race to help determine whether President Joe Biden’s Democrats maintain a very thin margin in the U.S. Senate. The race for the seat held by Republican Pat Toomey is significant enough that both Biden and former President Donald Trump have traveled to states in recent weeks to promote their own candidates. .

Five Democratic state officials interviewed over the past two weeks, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss their concerns, raised concerns about Fetterman’s health and whether the Republican attacks were swaying voters. expressed.

Joe Foster, the state Democratic Commissioner, said, “It’s important that people watch John Fetterman’s campaign and see for themselves that he’s OK. In a state where elections are decided, that’s important.” He’s from the suburbs of Philadelphia.

Fetterman held his first public event after his stroke in August and has since appeared in several campaigns, including the Labor Day parade in Pittsburgh. and his campaign confirmed that he relied on closed captioning to conduct interviews because of his hearing impairment.

Joe Cavello, a spokesman for the Fetterman campaign, said he has the job.

“John marched in the rain for over two hours at the Labor Day parade in Pittsburgh and then spoke at two other events,” Cabello told Reuters on Friday. Anyone who’s been around knows he’s more capable of fighting for PA than Dr. Oz while he’s still recovering.

Fetterman rallied with abortion rights advocacy group Planned Parenthood in Philadelphia’s largest suburban county to provoke female voters concerned about the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in June to suspend nationwide abortion rights I’m trying

The stakes are high in Pennsylvania, where gubernatorial elections determine whether women can maintain access to abortion. Fetterman vowed to help protect that access. Oz says he’s “100% pro-life,” but in case of rape or incest, or if his mother’s life is in danger. supports exceptions.

Christopher Bollik, a professor of political science at Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania, said basic campaign events like Sunday’s post-stroke effort have additional implications.

“He doesn’t have to be the pre-stroke John Fetterman, but people need to make sure he’s capable,” Bolick said.

Oz used an initial refusal by Fetterman to claim that his rival was either afraid of him or was hiding the extent of his stroke damage.

According to media reports, Oz told reporters last week that “John Fetterman is in good health and either avoids the debate because he doesn’t want to answer about his radical left stance, or he’s too sick to participate.” rice field.

Fetterman has now agreed to debate in October, but his campaign will include closed captioning monitors at the event so he won’t miss a word as he continues to recover from his stroke. We are considering the possibility of using

“Let me be clear, this was not about Dr. Oz’s discussion,” Fetterman said in a statement. It was because they had nothing else.”

Reported by Jarrett Renshaw.Editing by Scott Malone and Daniel Wallis

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