The Dark Money Fight Against Abortion Access: A Year in Review
(lengthy, informative, anger-making article)
The Dark Money Fight Against Abortion Access: A Year in Review
6/23/2023 by Ansev Demirhan and Caitlin Mahoney
Far from standing down after they succeeded in abolishing the constitutional right to abortion, anti-abortion donors and activists have ramped up their efforts to limit reproductive rights.
Abortion rights activists protest as guests arrive for the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America’s annual gala and fundraising dinner at the National Building Museum on September 13, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Drew Angerer / Getty Images)
In the year since the Supreme Court reversed half a century of legal precedent with its Dobbs decision, dark money anti-abortion groups have not abated their assault on reproductive rights. Due to that edict by the Republican appointees to the nation’s highest court, only 15 states have protected abortion access and anti-abortion groups are spending heavily to dismantle access state-by-state along with federally approved abortion drugs. Behind this attack on our rights is a web of groups funded by ultra-rich donors and coordinated by far-right lawyer and longtime Federalist Society leader Leonard Leo.
The Dark Money Groups that Overturned Roe v. Wade
Following the 2016 election, Donald Trump brought in Leo to “advise” him on potential Supreme Court nominees, leading to the placement of three controversial, far-right judges on the Court, installed with the help of Leo’s dark money court capture operation: Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrrett. From 2014-2020, Leo’s network raised nearly $600 million to pack the courts and change the law, True North Research has detailed.
In 2020, Leo received the largest known political advocacy donation in history when right-wing billionaire Barre Seid transferred $1.6 billion to the “Marble Freedom Trust.” The latest Marble IRS filing reveals that Leo funneled at least $411 million to right-wing groups from 2020 to 2022. Leo-tied anti-abortion groups, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America (SBA) and Concerned Women for America (CWA), also helped pressure politicians to confirm Trump’s judicial nominees.
SBA has received money from Leo’s Concord Fund—also known as the Judicial Crisis Network (JCN), The 85 Fund, America Engaged and the now disposed Wellspring Committee. Notably, SBA’s leader, Marjorie Dannenfelser, revealed that she spoke with Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Senate Leader Mitch McConnell and Senator Lindsey Graham about who would replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg the week the justice died in September 2020.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) speaks during a news conference on Sept. 13, 2022, to announce a new bill on a national ban on abortions after the 15-week mark. Also pictured, at left, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America Marjorie Dannenfelser. (Drew Angerer / Getty Images)
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https://msmagazine.com/2023/06/23/dark-money-abortion-leonard-leo-federalist-society/