With Election Day fast approaching, the abortion industry is pouring unprecedented amounts of money — more than $100 million — into pro-abortion campaigns.
On September 12, 2024, American Bridge 21st Century, a major Democratic Super PAC, kicked off a $15 million ad campaign targeting Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. As part of a broader $140 million media push to defeat former President Donald Trump, the ads — running across TV, radio, and digital platforms — aim to engage women in these key swing states. The campaign contrasts Trump’s stance on abortion with Vice President Kamala Harris, who has pledged to safeguard abortion access and restore Roe v. Wade in federal law. This would block states from implementing pro-life laws that limit abortion access.
According to Bradley Beychok, co-founder of American Bridge, the focus is on “abortion, democracy, and freedom,” with an emphasis on how women in key battleground states will shape the outcome of the election.
Trump’s campaign has stated that the Supreme Court “got it right” in overturning Roe v. Wade, though he has said he supports abortion in cases of rape, incest, and health of the mother. He has also said he will not use the Comstock Act to ban mail-order abortion drugs or call for a nationwide abortion ban.
Harris’ ad campaign arrives on the heels of two massive investments in pro-abortion lobbying over the summer.
On June 24, 2024, the two-year anniversary of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, pro-abortion organizations launched the Access Now campaign, pledging a $100 million investment to advance abortion access across the United States. The press release stated, “The campaign will work to expand abortion access and coverage over the next decade, ensuring a federal right to abortion, making it legal again, and securing access to abortion care in every state.”
READ: Abortion industry’s post-Roe state strategy: Establishing abortion as a constitutional ‘right’
The organizations behind the campaign include Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union, the top contributors to abortion-related lobbying spending. These two groups are also among the key players promoting pro-abortion ballot initiatives in various states.
Also on June 24, Planned Parenthood Votes announced that its political and advocacy groups plan to spend $40 million in the 2024 election to defend abortion access. Through the We Decide campaign, Planned Parenthood invested in 14 target states, including Arizona, Florida, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. The program engages voters through face-to-face conversations, phone calls, mail, digital ads, and events.
At the June launch of the program, Jenny Lawson, executive director of Planned Parenthood Votes, stated: “Planned Parenthood advocacy and political organizations are fighting to elect abortion rights champions, up and down the ballot. At no point in pregnancy is a politician more qualified to make decisions about your health than you and your health care providers. We demand the power to decide what’s best for our families, our bodies, our lives, and our futures. When we decide – we win.”
On the pro-life side, Pregnancy Help News reports that pro-life groups are fighting hard to advocate for the nation’s preborn children. In February 2024, a spokesperson for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America (previously the Susan B. Anthony List) told OpenSecrets they planned to raise and spend $92 million during the 2024 election cycle.
Massive spending on abortion this election cycle sends a clear message: the stakes are high, and the outcome could reshape the future of abortion and the right to life for preborn children in America.
