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Ohio gets some star power in the form of Ashley Judd

Actress Ashley Judd - native Kentuckian and actress - provided some star power to Tuesday's morning's breakfast of Ohio delegates at the Oasis Shriners' Lodge in Charlotte.

Judd, who lives in Tennessee, made a brief speech to the Ohio delegates where she brought up a subject that had yet to be mentioned in any of the Ohio delegation meetings - abortion.

Mitt Romney's campaign, Judd said, is "trying to distance itself from Mr. Akin's remarks,'' referring to the recent statement by Missouri GOP Senate candidate Todd Akins, who said that, in cases of "legitimate rape," women's bodies have biological ways of preventing pregnancy.

"If we can make medically accurate sex education available to boys and girls, and men and women, we can make abortion obsolete,'' said Judd, a pro-abortion rights political activist when she is not starring in movies and making TV appearances.

"Abortion should be safe, legal and rare,'' Judd said, bringing much of the audience to its feet in applause.

She also praised Obamacare, saying that "in Ohio alone, 400,000 children with pre-existing conditions can not be denied insurance. And 900,000 people in Ohio with traditional health care can now access preventive services."

Howard Wilkinson is in his 50th year of covering politics on the local, state and national levels.