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) |
BY ANSEV DEMIRHAN and CAITLIN MAHONEY | 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.
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. (Click here to read more) |
