American billionaire George Soros has been funneling huge amounts of money into campaigns to legalize abortion on demand in Ireland.
Those donations are illegal, according to the Irish Standards in Public Office Commission, or Sipo.
Yet, Amnesty International Ireland, one of the largest recipients of Soros’ money, has refused to give back the donations, The Times reports.
The billionaire’s money gave a huge bump to the pro-abortion group’s budget, contributing to a 70-percent operating surplus, according to the report.
Sipo said the donations violate the 1997 Electoral Act, which prohibits foreign parties from donating more than €100 ($138) to Irish groups for political purposes.
Here’s more from the report:
Amnesty’s recently filed 2016 accounts show that the €137,000 (about $189,000) donation contributed to the operating surplus for the year increasing by 70 per cent from €479,000 to €814,000. Total revenues were €3 million (about $4.1 million), of which the OSF [Soros’ foundation] money was 8 per cent. Sipo has said that a file will be sent to the director of public prosecutions if Amnesty does not return the money.
The accounts show that Colm O’Gorman, executive director of the charity, had a salary of €115,498. The total pay for the organisation’s seven key management personnel was €519,357.
The pro-abortion group is fighting the commission’s ruling.
“We believe that Sipo’s decision is unjust and illustrates that the Electoral Act’s third party provisions are a serious threat to civil society rights and freedoms,” an Amnesty spokeswoman said.
The Abortion Rights Campaign, another Irish group that received €25,000 from Soros’ Open Society Foundations, agreed to return the donation.
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The Irish government began asking questions of pro-abortion groups in 2016 after a leaked document from the Open Society Foundations revealed plans to push Ireland and other pro-life countries to legalize abortion, the Catholic News Agency reports.
In reference to Ireland, the document said, “With one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the world, a win there could impact other strongly Catholic countries in Europe, such as Poland, and provide much needed proof that change is possible, even in highly conservative places.”
Soros, one of the richest men in the world, has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to pro-abortion groups in Ireland through his foundation, according to Breitbart. This includes €137,000 to Amnesty International Ireland, €132,000 to an affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation in Ireland and €25,000 to the Abortion Rights Campaign.
Soros also has been using his money to push abortions in other countries. The billionaire gave a whopping $246 million to pro-abortion groups in the past several years, including $21 million to the United States abortion chain Planned Parenthood. Other recipients include the Center for Reproductive Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union.
The Eighth Amendment to the Irish Constitution protects unborn babies’ right to life and prohibits abortions except when the mother’s life is in jeopardy. Pro-lifers estimate that the amendment has saved approximately 100,000 unborn babies’ lives from abortion. However, abortion activists throughout the world have been putting intense pressure on Ireland to repeal the Eighth Amendment and legalize abortion on demand.
In December, a biased government committee recommended that Ireland repeal the amendment and legalize unlimited abortions up to 12 weeks of pregnancy.
A referendum vote on the amendment is expected this summer.
