Yesterday Judicial Watch reported that Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) wrote to the IRS in June 2012 to complain about 12 nonprofit groups he wanted investigated for “political activity.”
The Susan B. Anthony List was one of the 12 groups listed (along with the Club for Growth, Americans for Tax Reform, 60 Plus Association and others). The SBA List doesn’t hide the fact that we are a pro-life political organization. Our mission states very plainly that the SBA List is: “dedicated to pursuing policies and electing candidates who will reduce and ultimately end abortion. To that end, the SBA List emphasizes the education, promotion, mobilization, and election of pro-life women.”
This news comes just weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Susan B. Anthony List v. Steve Driehaus. On April 22, the SBA List asked the high court to allow our First Amendment challenge to Ohio’s “false statement” law to proceed.
In 2010, SBA List attempted to erect billboards to expose then Rep. Steve Driehaus for supporting taxpayer funded abortion by voting for the Affordable Care Act, but was prevented from doing so because of the Ohio law. The SBA List was threatened with prosecution if it engaged in similar speech about Driehaus or other candidates in Ohio.
Make no mistake: Obamacare absolutely uses taxpayer dollars to fund abortions. Because Congress and the White House failed to include the Stupak amendment in the ACA as it passed, the law is full of abortion funding loopholes. These abortion provisions blatantly contradict President Obama’s 2009 promise that “under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortion.”
Moreover, the Ohio law is a searing violation of the constitutional right to the freedom of speech because it creates a “Ministry of Truth” and empowers government bureaucrats – not voters – to say what is true and what is false when it comes to politics.
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The very need for our court case, and now this news that we have been targeted by senior legislators, solidly exemplifies this Administration’s attempts to stoke fear in the hearts of those who disagree with them. The Susan B. Anthony List has very publicly criticized this Administration’s extreme abortion policies and worked tirelessly to expose the truth, specifically about abortion funding in Obamacare.
“Fear of engaging in the public square is antithetical to the ideals on which our country was built,” said SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser, when asked about the IRS scandal this morning. “That’s why we will always fight fear and work to preserve freedom. Absolute power corrupts, absolutely. Any government action that leads to fear of navigating in the public square is unhealthy for Democracy, and must be stopped.”
