In an apparent effort to defend its gruesome (and failing) business interests in the state, abortion giant Planned Parenthood announced that it will spend $3 million to try to buy the Texas governorship and other key offices for pro-abortion Democrat candidates in the 2014 elections. At the head of line for some of the bloody millions is pro-abortion gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis, who is up against Republican, pro-life opponent Greg Abbott, currently the state’s attorney general.
The announcement comes as Planned Parenthood launches a new abortion facility in Dallas to make up for the several that closed throughout the state because they did not meet the requirement that their abortion doctors have admitting privileges at area hospitals with the capacity to treat women who are victims of abortions-gone-wrong. That requirement, along with a ban on abortion after the 20th week of pregnancy, were the major elements of significant pro-life legislation passed by Texas state lawmakers in 2013.
Under a newly formed PAC called Planned Parenthood Texas Votes, the abortion giant’s latest effort “is intended to bolster the top of the Democratic ticket, along with a slate of state House candidates and the Democrat running for Davis’ open Senate seat,” reported the Houston Chronicle. “The group also endorsed Rep. Sarah Davis, the only Republican who voted against last year’s tighter abortion restrictions.”
Seed money for the pro-abortion PAC came in the form of a $1 million donation from Cecilia Boone, a longtime abortion operative and current chair of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. “It’s only the third contribution of that amount recorded by any candidate or PAC this election cycle,” reported the Chronicle.
“Planned Parenthood organizers said they will parlay the PAC money into an aggressive field program to reach more than 300,000 women — including Democrats and Republicans identified as receptive to their message — through phone banks, door-to-door visits, and direct mail,” reported the paper. “The campaign will also include a heavy dose of digital outreach that will include radio ads and online ads, along with social media.”
“When women have a chance to know the difference between candidates, they won’t vote for someone who is against them,” voiced Planned Parenthood head Cecile Richards (shown above) of the campaign.
Thus far Wendy Davis has largely kept her campaign at arms length from the abortion issue, hoping that voters will forget the manner in which she incited a pro-abortion mob to disrupt the legislative process in June 2013 when state lawmakers passed the commonsense restrictions on abortion and abortion providers in the state.
By contrast, Abbott has been open about his pro-life record, and of his successful efforts to defend Texas’ restrictions on abortion, which were under legal assault by Planned Parenthood until the U.S. Supreme Court ruled for the pro-life measures. “For a child to have a better chance in life, a child must first have a chance at life,” Abbott said in one recent campaign speech.
As for Abbott’s pro-life supporters, their war chest is significantly smaller than Planned Parenthood’s, with the PAC for Texas Alliance for Life, one of two major pro-life groups in the state, having spent only $150,000 thus far in the election cycle. In addition, Texas Right to Life’s PAC has spent about $300,000 so far, according to the Houston Chronicle, for a very modest pro-life PAC spending total of $450,000 so far in the election process.
While admitting that the abortion giant’s $3 million announcement was a “wake-up call” for his group, Joe Pojman, executive director of Texas Alliance for Life, pointed out that the abortion industry is forced to throw dollars at the campaign because it lacks support for its anti-life platform among Texas voters. “Planned Parenthood doesn’t have the grass roots to energize in the same way the pro-life movement can,” Pojman said of the success that rank-and-file pro-life activists have had in influencing races and campaigns throughout Texas in recent years.
Nonetheless, Abbott won’t be hurting for campaign cash as the race between him and Davis heats up. According to the Austin, Texas, Fox affiliate, “the Republican Attorney General has a big advantage over Davis” in funding. “His campaign says Abbott has retained around $36 million in cash for fundraising efforts, where Davis only has $13 million.”
Photo of Planned Parenthood Action Fund president Cecile Richards: AP Images
