On Election Day 2014, pro-lifers saw many victories, at the national, but also on the state level, in Tennessee.
The passage of Tennessee Constitutional Amendment One allows for the people of Tennessee, through their elected state representatives and senators, to enact new statutes regarding abortion.
In 2000, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that many of the state’s abortion regulations were unconstitutional and could not be enforced. The state became a hotspot then for out-of-state residents to abort their children, with 24.5 percent of abortions in the state for 2010 being performed on such residents. The dissent advised citizens to bring forth an amendment that would Constitutionally restore the ability to regulate abortion, and 14 years later they did just that.
Despite being outspent 3-1, the pro-life movement emerged victorious, and the amendment passed 53-47 percent. Unfortunately, but perhaps not so surprisingly, there is a lawsuit being brought forth regarding how the votes were counted. From WBIR.com, with added emphasis:
A lawsuit filed in federal court days after the election by eight voters, including the co-director of the Vote No on One campaign, seeks to challenge the validity of the way the votes for Amendment 1 were counted. The case is set for trial on March 8, 2016.
Pro-aborts are so hell-bent then, and are such sore losers, that it seems they cannot handle their opponents having even just the chance to regulate the procedure.
The piece from the Tennessee news outlet mainly focuses on the money spent between groups in favor of and opposed to Amendment One. Groups spent over $6 million in weeks before the election, mostly on advertising. More than $4 million was spent from October 1 to October 25. WBIR.com points out that supporters of the amendment were outspent by nearly 3-to-1.
Those who supported the Amendment with considerable financial donations included Governor Bill Haslam and his wife, Crissy. U.S. Rep., Diane Black (R-TN) and her husband also contributed, as did U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn’s (R-TN) congressional committee, Lee Beaman, who is a “Nashville auto dealer and GOP donor,” and Tennessee Right to Life.
On the other hand, here are those groups which opposed the Amendment, with added emphasis:
For abortion-rights supporters Vote No on One Tennessee, most of the money again came from out-of-state groups. The national American Civil Liberties Union contributed another $100,000 in the final period after donating $100,000 earlier in the month.
The second-largest single contribution — $75,000 — came from a Washington, D.C.-based group called Americans for Economic Growth.
Vote No on One Tennessee also received $40,000 from the Memphis chapter of Planned Parenthood, $25,000 from the Lesbian Political Action Committee and $20,000 each from the Feminist Majority Foundation, Planned Parenthood of Illinois and the Service Employees International Union. Actress and activist Ashley Judd contributed $3,000.
Unfortunately it is not new for the abortion movement to seek to influence those around the country and the world. Planned Parenthood has an international division, Planned Parenthood Global. This is in addition to the existence of the International Planned Parenthood Federation. Marie Stopes International, a UK organization, has also influenced nations around the world, and has been banned in Zambia.
The abortion movement may have money, but it uses such money in ways which do not actually help people. The abortion movement cares more about the procedure than it does for women and children, many of whom they will never see or actually aid in their suffering.
