November 9, 2023
Days have passed since the election results came in from Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, and elsewhere. We’ve already covered how that went – and what we thought about it. What we have not yet discussed, however, is the money trail leading into these states from external, pro-abortion entities.
According to reporting by the Associated Press:
Supporters of a ballot measure that would enshrine abortion rights in the Ohio Constitution far outraised their anti-abortion opponents in the months leading up to the November election, bringing in nearly $29 million from donors since Sept. 8, the campaign’s latest filings show.
The effort against Issue 1, which would amend the constitution to protect abortion rights, raised just under $10 million in the same period, according to Thursday’s filings.
Further reporting by AP noted several other major out of state donations, including:
- Three gifts totaling $5.3 million from the progressive Sixteen Thirty Fund, based in Washington, D.C. The Sixteen Thirty Fund counts among its funders Hansjörg Wyss, a Swiss billionaire who has given the group more than $200 million since 2016.
- $3.5 million from the New York-based Open Society Policy Center, a lobbying group associated with the billionaire philanthropist George Soros
- $2 million from the American Civil Liberties Union, also based in New York.
- $1 million each from Billionaires Michael Bloomberg of New York and Abigail Wexner.
And that’s just Ohio.
In Virginia, Parenthood Planned Parenthood Virginia PAC and Vote Pro-Choice ran a $2 million campaign with field, digital, and mail ads in the state. Planned Parenthood also spent 42% more in Kentucky than it did in 2019 and spent more in Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court race than they ever have in a judicial election, according to Axios.
The pro-life movement was outspent – plain and simple. But this reality provides clarity. We’re very unlikely to ever have this kind of funding and support as we don’t have Big Tech, Hollywood, or the media on our side.
We’re the David to their Goliath – and like David, we need to use what’s around us and find our smooth stones to take on our giant. Here’s what some of those smooth stones could look like:
- We must be willing to try and embrace new strategies and tactics.
- We need to stop listening to the GOP consultants and naysayers.
- We need to develop new ways to get our message to voters, cutting through the lies they are constantly fed on social media and TV ads by the abortion industry.
Students for Life Action President Kristan Hawkins has said that “this quest for an abortion-free America is a marathon and not a sprint.” We do ourselves no credit in lying about the setback these elections were. But the wheels of justice grind slow and fine, and many examples of historical great but gradual change prove this – from the Civil War to the Civil Rights Act.
We are on the side of protecting preborn life – we are on the right side of the foremost human rights issue of our time. This is going to be our war to win or lose. And we aren’t going away.