The race for funding in the abortion debate has reached new heights as pro-abortion groups have raised nearly eight times more than their pro-life counterparts, collecting $108 million compared to $14 million. Ten states will see abortion measures on their ballots in November; nine of these measures aim to enshrine a right to abortion into the state constitution in various forms. Pro-abortion campaigns have spent over $11 million on TV and radio ads, yard signs, and mailers while pro-life opponents have spent less than $50,000 opposing these measures.
Campaigns for or against abortion measures typically raise money to reach voters through various means such as TV and radio commercials, mailers, and door-knocking. In states like Missouri and Montana, the significant financial advantage of pro-abortion groups has led to more ad purchases than their opponents. For instance, in Missouri, abortion groups have raised over $5 million, including a $1 million contribution from former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, leading to over $11 million spent on supporting ballot measures. In Montana, pro-abortion groups have outraised pro-life groups by a wide margin – $11.8 million to $105,000.
The majority of funding for the abortion amendments comes from abortion giants like Planned Parenthood Federation of America and some of its regional affiliates, which have given over $1 million in support. Other major donors include Marsah Zlatin Laufer, a billionaire with eugenicist leanings, who has contributed more than $9 million to the pro-abortion side in Florida. Left-wing dark money groups like Arabella Advisors’ Sixteen Thirty Fund, The Fairness Project, and the Open Society Action Fund are also actively supporting these abortion amendments, much like they did for previous abortion measures.
The shift from federal power to state control over abortion rights has led pro-abortion organizations and activists to turn their focus towards ballot measures in an attempt to shore up the growing abortion complex. Ballot measures are particularly effective as an offensive weapon because they change a state constitution, take precedence over laws passed by state legislatures, and can only be overturned by another ballot measure. This gives left-wing organizations with deep pockets, such as Planned Parenthood and the ACLU, significant influence in this area of policy-making.
Every pro-abortion-related ballot measure since the fall of Roe v. Wade has been successful. Voters in California, Michigan, Vermont, Montana, Kentucky, and Ohio have all codified abortion rights into their state constitutions, while others have rejected attempts to establish a right to abortion or give rights to babies born alive after botched abortions. Meanwhile, Republicans at the state level have been working to protect unborn children, and Democrats have expanded abortion access nationwide through shield laws, telemedicine, and funding for establishing their states as abortion havens.
According to a report from the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute, there were an estimated 1,026,690 unborn babies killed in abortions in the U.S. formal healthcare system in 2021 – representing a ten percent increase in abortions from 2020 and the highest number and rate of abortions recorded in the United States since Roe v. Wade was overturned.