“Dark Money” Fueling Radical Ohio Abortion Constitutional Amendment
If Ohio voters won’t vote to protect their children, who will?
Originally published at LifeNews (Oct. 26, 2023)
Shadowy out-of-state groups are pouring money into the campaign to enshrine a radical new abortion law in Ohio’s constitution, but will voters fall for it?
In the wake of Roe v. Wade’s defeat in the Supreme Court last year, leftist groups are clamoring to dramatically expand abortion up to the day of birth in red states. In Ohio, that means pushing Issue 1—which would establish a right to abort babies long past the point of “fetal viability,” the limit established under Roe.
In practice, that means creating a “right” to abort third trimester babies far beyond anything provided by Roe, when mothers are 37–42 weeks pregnant.
Ohioans have a clear mandate to vote “no” on Issue 1. Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine and Secretary of State Frank LaRose both oppose Issue 1.
If Ohio—a red state that voted to reelect President Trump by 8 points in 2020—seems an unlikely target, the Left’s ocean of “dark money” says otherwise.
From the Swamp with Cash
Restoration News has identified $9 million in contributions to the pro-Issue 1 campaign by leftist “dark money” groups and mega-donors, all of which are based outside of Ohio.
The Sixteen Thirty Fund, which has dumped $1.3 million into the race, is the biggest lobbying arm of the world’s largest “dark money” network, run by Arabella Advisors. The Arabella network spends billions of dollars each election cycle—in 2020, twice as much as the RNC and DNC combined—electing Democrats and attacking Republicans.
It’s the Left’s ultimate secret weapon: A nexus of groups that quietly pour millions of dollars into campaigns to flip red states blue and shift the country leftward.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is the professional Left’s favorite litigation group, responsible for burying conservatives in expensive lawsuits and win in the courts what Democrats can’t win at the polls. We’ve traced $2.3 million from the ACLU and its Ohio arm in the Issue 1 race.
George Soros is in on the action, too, pumping $500,000 into the pro-Issue 1 campaign through his in-house advocacy group, Open Society Police Center.
Ditto Planned Parenthood—the nation’s largest abortion provider—which has funneled $1.8 million into codifying abortion “rights” in Ohio through its various arms.
Much less known is mega-donor Lynn Schusterman, a billionaire and Democrat contributor who’s provided $1 million to the Issue 1 campaign. The Schusterman Family Foundation—built on a fortune made in oil and gas, no less—is a top donor to radical environmentalist and transgender groups.
Schusterman herself has backed at least one Soros DA: San Francisco’s wildly controversial Chesa Boudin, whom “progressives” tried to recall last year for being too soft on crime.
Then there’s Illinois Democrat Gov. J.B. Pritzker, head of the infamous Chicago Pritzker family, whose wealth comes from the Hyatt hotel chain. Pritzker, who contributed $250,000 to the Issue 1 campaign, recently launched his own nationwide pro-abortion group, Think Big America, to fund similar ballot measures in Nevada and Arizona.
What’s missing? Local support for Issue 1. If “progressives” pass the measure in November, it’s because outside “dark money” caught conservatives off-guard.
Time for Action
This is just the start of the Left’s war on children and mothers. Ohioans, if you don’t protect your children from the cult of death, who will?
Early voting started Oct. 7 in Ohio for the Nov. 7 election. Get out and vote “no” on Issue 1.
