As voters in Ohio prepare to vote on Issue 1, a ballot measure that would enshrine the “right” to abortion in the state’s constitution, new campaign finance filings are revealing that pro-abortion groups in favor of the amendment have both outearned and outspent their pro-life opponents by a large margin, with the largest donations coming from groups outside Ohio.
The reporting shows that Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights, the group behind the ballot measure, raised more than $39.2 million this year through mid-October and spent $26.2 million. More than $28.7 million of the money received came from cash donations since August. Nearly $20 million was spent on television ads in support of the measure.
In contrast, the pro-life campaign led by Protect Women Ohio raised nearly $27 million as of mid-October, spending just under $24.3 million. The group has received $16.8 million of its donations since the summer. The group spent nearly $16.5 million on its own ads.
The largest donors to the pro-abortion cause come from out-of-state, including Washington D.C.-based Sixteen Thirty Fund, the New York-based Open Society Policy Center (which is associated with the philanthropist George Soros), and the New York-based American Civil Liberties Union. Other notable donors include former mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York (who has financed abortion measures in other states as well), Oklahoma billionaire Lynn Schusterman, and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.
Though some of Protect Women Ohio’s funding came from out-of-state, a large portion was also from in-state donors, including Protect Women Ohio Action, the Diocese of Columbus, and the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.
Amy Natoce, press secretary of Protect Women Ohio, told the Associated Press it was discouraging to see so many big pro-abortion entities trying to influence the state vote, when she believes it’s not what the citizens of the state actually want.
“It’s no surprise the ACLU is dumping millions of dollars into Ohio to cement its radical anti-parent amendment in our constitution,” she said. “Whether voters are pro-choice, pro-life or somewhere in between, Issue 1 just goes too far and is too radical for Ohioans.”
The vote is scheduled for November 7.
