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Follow the Money: Center for Reproductive Rights
Just recently, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Texas law known as H.B. 2 that provides for the regulation of abortion clinics in the same manner as other healthcare facilities in the state. Other states have enacted similar measures, including Tennessee, which passed a constitutional amendment last November affirming the role of the state legislature on this issue.
As one might expect, the abortion industry and pro-abortion lobby mounted a furious legal challenge to H.B. 2, urging the courts to overturn state laws under the rationalization that such regulations place an “undue burden” on the pursuit of abortion services. In a 2013 lawsuit led by Planned Parenthood, the 5th Circuit held “that both of the challenged provisions are constitutional and therefore reverse and render judgment, with one exception, for the State.” The Supreme Court subsequently refused to vacate the ruling.
However, the lawsuit in last week’s ruling was brought by a different party: the Center for Reproductive Rights. While this organization may not be as familiar as pro-abortion giants such as Planned Parenthood and NARAL, the Center has a concerning track record of litigation aimed at preventing the implementation of Pro-Life legislation and other common sense regulations since its founding in 1992. Recently, the organization’s attorneys have filed lawsuits challenging state-level abortion restrictions in Arkansas, Kansas, and Oklahoma.
A truly ideological organization, the Center for Reproductive Rights unreservedly promotes the advancement of abortion on a global scale as a ‘fundamental human right’. Language on the group’s website like “working with federal and state lawmakers in the U.S. to promote progressive policies” leaves little doubt as to the philosophy behind the advocacy. In the past, the Center even launched a campaign to repeal the Hyde Amendment, the provision barring the use of federal tax dollars for abortion.
Obviously, the legal work and lobbying activities come with a hefty price tag. The latest Annual Report shows operating expenses from Fiscal Year 2014 reaching almost $19 million and that the Center brought in over $24 million in the same time frame.
2nd Vote’s research has found that not all of that support comes from only from liberal foundations and elites. According to the Center’s own publications, many corporations have longstanding financial partnerships with the organization as well. For example, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer stands out as one of the Center’s top corporate funders and is listed in every annual report dating back to 2006.
Granted, as the manufacturer of abortifacients such as Cytotec, Pfizer’s involvement the Center isn’t all that surprising, and neither is the support from corporations with a history of liberal activity like Microsoft, Google, Apple, and GE. However, DirecTV, a company that doesn’t often come up in these columns, has a longstanding matching gift program that helps fund the organization, and ExxonMobil has been listed on the reports as well.
This widespread corporate support should alarm conservatives because, unlike other pro-abortion actors, the Center for Reproductive Rights can’t mask its true intent behind the guise of ‘providing healthcare.’ As we have seen from the recent case in Texas, the monies from these corporations, and by extension the customers who do business with them, not only help fund advocacy promoting abortion, but they also help fund the legal fight to overturn constitutionally enacted legislation.
2nd Vote is the conservative shopping resource and mobile app dedicated to helping consumers hold corporations accountable for advocacy on the issues. To find out more, download the free app or visit 2ndVote.com.
The post Follow the Money: Center for Reproductive Rights appeared first on RedState.
Source: http://www.redstate.com/diary/2ndvote/2015/06/24/follow-money-center-reproductive-rights/
