Author: Ansev Demirhan

Ansev Demirhan is a senior researcher at True North Research. She earned her Ph.D. in history from UNC-Chapel Hill and is trained as an intersectional feminist historian. Her research focuses on dark money groups and their opposition to policies that advance equity, reproductive justice, LGBTQIA+ rights and public education. Demirhan has bylines in Ms. magazine, The Guardian, Truthout and Rewire News Group.

Meet the Republican Attorneys General Wreaking Havoc on Abortion Access 

Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) is a veritable legal army of far-right attorneys general. RAGA-member AGs have been especially active in pushing for and enforcing oppressive abortion bans, and are working to fulfill anti-abortion power broker Leonard Leo’s extreme agenda.

Several attorneys general have been especially active in attempting to impose their personal beliefs about abortion on all Americans: Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch.

Far-Right Players Behind Latest Attacks on Abortion in Emergencies

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In April, the nation’s highest Court will hear a pair of cases that will determine whether the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) preempts state laws that impede emergency abortions needed to protect the health of pregnant people even if they are not on the brink of death. 

Both of these cases have ties to the main anti-abortion zealots that helped overturn Roe: Leonard Leo and Alliance Defending Freedom. 

Judge James Ho’s Connections to the Anti-Abortion Movement

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If allowed to take effect, an August ruling from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals would sharply restrict access to medication abortion nationwide and eliminate telemedicine abortion. Three Republican-nominated judges issued the Fifth Circuit ruling. But one of the judges, James Ho, issued a concurring opinion, arguing the ruling did not go far enough.

Ho clerked for Clarence Thomas and has close ties to the Federalist Society, led by Leonard Leo. The judge has referred to abortion as “the immoral, tragic, and violent taking of innocent human life.” He and his spouse, Allyson Ho, have been running in the same circles as key players in the assault against abortion access in the U.S. for years.

The Dark Money Fight Against Abortion Access: A Year in Review

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Dark money groups, far from standing down after they succeeded in abolishing Americans’ constitutional right to decide if and when to have children, have ramped up their efforts to further limit reproductive rights since the right-wing faction on the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade a year ago.

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.

The Same Groups That Helped Overturn Roe and Attack Abortion Pills Are Also Lobbying Against the ERA

From supporting the Supreme Court’s right-wing faction responsible for overturning Roe, to spreading misinformation around medication abortion, anti-abortion groups are fighting to eliminate abortion access on multiple fronts.

Their anti-reproductive justice efforts also include lobbying against the Equal Rights Amendment. Lobbying disclosures reveal that far-right, anti-abortion groups like Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America (SBA, formerly Susan B. Anthony List), National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), Concerned Women for America (CWA) and Students For Life America (SFLA) have spent unknown sums lobbying against the ERA in 2021 and 2022.

The Same Dark Money Groups That Helped Overturn Roe Are Also Behind Attacks on Abortion Pill

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer, abortion pills have become a vital option for millions of people, especially for those living in states with abortion bans. Now, the same dark money groups that helped overturn Roe—and then argued that the edict “empowered women”—are taking aim at abortion pill access. A federal judge installed by Donald Trump could declare a nationwide ban on the abortion pill mifepristone as soon as this week. 

Dark Money Anti-Abortion Groups Peddle the Absurd Idea That a Post-Roe World Empowers Women

Right-wing dark money groups are peddling the notion that abortion access “harms” women and, even more outlandish, that the Dobbs decision overturning Roe “empowers” them. This position essentializes women by suggesting their value is centered around motherhood. It also uses pseudo-feminist claims to detract from the very real dangers a post-Roe landscape presents for people and the myriad ways abortion access has helped advance gender equality in the U.S. in the last five decades.