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.
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.
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.
Dark Money Authors of GOP-Led ‘Women’s Bill of Rights’ Have a History of Attacking Title IX and Trans Women
In late May, the GOP Study Committee, the largest group of right-wing lawmakers on the Hill, introduced a so-called “Women’s Bill of Rights” (WBOR) in the House. Far from a comprehensive plan to promote gender equity, the bill does not affirm any rights for women other than the “right” for cisgender women to exclude transgender women from gender-affirming spaces.
The WBOR’s co-sponsor is the 501(c)(3) Independent Women’s Forum (IWF) and its 501(c)(4) action arm, the Independent Women’s Voice (IWV), which have long opposed the Equal Rights Amendment, paid family and medical leave, and countless other measures that would improve the lives of millions of American women and girls.
Mothers Want Federally Funded Childcare. Why Are These Koch-Funded Women Opposing It?
Special interest groups funded by corporations and the ultra-wealthy went all out in attacking Build Back Better. These groups hide behind a woman’s face to conceal anti-feminist policy positions while reproducing social inequalities for families across generations by opposing policies and structures that would advance equality and improve economic mobility.