Film director Steven Spielberg and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg gave huge donations to pro-abortion groups in Kansas to keep abortion on demand legal in the mid-western state.
Earlier this month, Kansas voters rejected a state constitutional amendment that would have allowed state lawmakers to make their own abortion laws. As a result, all abortion regulations and limits are in jeopardy because of a 2019 Kansas Supreme Court ruling that found a so-called “right to abortion” in the state constitution.
Now, campaign finance reports reveal that a lot of the money spent opposing the pro-life amendment came from out-of-state donors like Spielberg, Bloomberg and dark money groups, according to the Associated Press.
“The ‘no’ campaign’s most recent campaign finance report is a who’s who of out-of-state, liberal elites and shows the lengths they were willing to go in order to keep Kansas a ‘haven’ for extreme practices,” Danielle Underwood, spokesperson for Kansans for Life, told the AP.
Spielberg (“Jurassic Park,” “Saving Private Ryan,” “E.T.”) donated $25,000 and his wife, actress Kate Capshaw, donated another $25,000 to Kansans for Constitutional Freedom, the pro-abortion campaign against the amendment, according to the report.
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Bloomberg, a politician and billionaire who frequently donates to pro-abortion causes, also gave $1.25 million to the campaign, the report states. Notably, a female employee once accused Bloomberg of pressuring her to have an abortion.
An earlier analysis of election spending by The Federalist found 71 percent of the $6.54 million raised by the pro-abortion campaign at the time came from sources outside the state. Campaign finance reports show two dark money groups, the Sixteen Thirty Fund and the North Fund, alone contributed $1.88 million, the Catholic News Agency reports.
In total, the pro-abortion side spent $11.3 million while the pro-life side spent a little less than $11.1 million, according to the AP.
Kansans for Life believes the massive out-of-state spending, coupled with “an onslaught of misinformation” and lies from radical pro-abortion groups contributed to the defeat of the Value Them Both amendment.
“Sadly, the mainstream media propelled the left’s false narrative, contributing to the confusion that misled Kansans about the amendment,” the pro-life organization responded on Facebook. “While the outcome is not what we hoped, our movement and campaign have proven our resolve and commitment. We will not abandon women and babies.”
Kansans voted 58-41 percent against the pro-life amendment Aug. 2 — just weeks after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
The pro-life amendment would have added language to the Kansas Constitution stating that there is no right to an abortion or taxpayer-funded abortion. Although it would not have banned the killing of unborn babies in abortions, it would have allowed the voter-elected state legislature to do so.
If the amendment had passed, Jeanne Gawdun, director of government relations for Kansans for Life, told KSNT that one of their first priorities would have been to ban brutal second-trimester dismemberment abortions that kill nearly fully formed unborn babies.
Prior to the vote, Gawdun said voters must be allowed to “have a say” on abortion, especially taxpayer-funded abortions and late-term abortions. Polls consistently show that a strong majority of Americans oppose both, but some states are forced through court orders to allow such things and Kansans fear the 2019 ruling in their state could be used to do exactly that.
During the campaign, abortion activists engaged in violence by vandalizing churches, allegedly setting fire to “Value Them Both” materials and vandalizing the Cowley County GOP office in Winfield.
To amend the Kansas Constitution, the state legislature must approve the amendment language by a two-thirds majority and then a majority of voters must approve it on the ballot.
Pro-life organizations in Kansas are working together to support the Value Them Both amendment, including Kansans for Life, Family Policy Alliance of Kansas, the Kansas Catholic Conference and Concerned Women for America of Kansas.
The 2019 Kansas Supreme Court ruling Hodes & Nauser v. Schmidt threatens all existing limits on abortion in the state. Without the amendment, Kansas could become the “wild west of the abortion industry,” said Brittany Jones, Esq., director of advocacy for the Family Police Alliance of Kansas, last year. This could mean forcing taxpayers to fund elective abortions and allowing unrestricted abortions up to birth, as well as ending informed consent requirements and parental consent for minors.
In several states, courts have found a so-called “right to abortion” in their state constitutions. The rulings have been used to force taxpayers to fund abortions and restrict the state legislature from passing even minor, common sense abortion restrictions. In 2018, West Virginia voters passed a similar state constitutional amendment after decades of being forced by a court ruling to fund elective abortions with their tax dollars.
