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Grand Rapids businessman Brian Ellis began his first television ad buy against U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, R-Cascade Township, and attacked the congressman on one particular abortion vote.

(Courtesy YouTube)

Grand Rapids businessman Brian Ellis and U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, R-Cascade Township

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — An ongoing political TV advertisement attacking U.S. Rep. Justin Amash's vote against an 2012 abortion bill doesn't tell the whole truth, according to a prominent fact-checking website.

The 30-second ad issued by primary challenger Brian Ellis is considered "misleading" because it makes no mention of Amash's anti-abortion stance, FactCheck.org writes. However, Amash's "no" vote on the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act and some "present" votes in the House lost the two-term congressman favor with the Right to Life organization and its agenda.

Related: Justin Amash loses Right to Life support, claims politics are at play

FactCheck.org describes itself as nonpartisan, nonprofit "consumer advocate" for voters run by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania.

"Amash voted to allow gender selection abortions to continue," the ad states. "Right to Life called Amash's vote 'shameful' and 'pro-abortion.' They're right. Amash's vote was very wrong."

Amash, R-Cascade Township, voted against the act when it came up for a vote in May 2012, making him the only Michigan Republican to do so. The bill reportedly would have imprisoned doctors for performing abortions based solely on gender, but during a town hall event last week, Amash said the bill would not have outlawed a single abortion and reiterated a pro-life position.

Ellis defends his ad, echoing Right to Life in saying there are clear inconsistencies with Amash's voting record. FactCheck.org made mention of this, whereas the congressmen voted "present" on two separate bills that would have denied federal funding to Planned Parenthood.

Amash defended those votes because he doesn't believe in singling out an organization for defunding when all should be defunded, he explained.

"My ad is accurate," Ellis said. "When you vote 'present,' you didn't support the life agenda and in this case, he's got multiple votes.

"Whether you do that one time, one is too many in my book. Then he's got two votes where he cops out and votes 'present.'"

Amash told his town hall audience that the bill would have made it a crime not to turn someone over to police whom they suspect of having performed an abortion, and not target the act of performing abortions. On Facebook, Amash wrote: "While we waste time on stuff like this, genuine legislation to protect life is ignored."

Watch Ellis' TV ad, here:

Andrew Krietz covers breaking and general police/fire news for MLive | The Grand Rapids Press. Email him at akrietz@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter.