Texas abortion law foes target corporate donations

FILE - In this Friday, Oct. 1, 2021, file photo, anti-abortion demonstrators pray and protest outside of a Whole Women's Health of North Texas, in McKinney, Texas. Foes of the strict abortion ban passed in Texas are taking aim at companies that donated money to the bill’s sponsors, hoping consumers will pressure corporate America to join the fight against a surge of abortion restrictions. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade, File)

AUSTIN — Foes of Texas’ abortion ban are taking aim at companies that donated money to the bill’s sponsors, hoping left-leaning consumers will pressure corporate America to join the fight against laws they disagree with in the state.

Corporate Accountability Action and American Bridge 21st Century, the Democratic Party’s opposition research arm, began highlighting AT&T’s contributions to Texas Republican lawmakers in television and digital ads. There are plans to expand the campaign to Florida, where similar measures have been introduced.

Abortion rights supporters in Texas are confronting the new pro-life law in one of the most populous states, as well as a conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court and GOP lawmakers who want their states to be next. Democrats and their allies on this issue are looking for new ways to harness frustration into leverage.


Texas had roughly two dozen abortion clinics before the law took effect Sept. 1. At least six clinics resumed performing abortions after six weeks of pregnancy after a federal judge blocked the law last Wednesday, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights. But late Friday, an appeals court allowed the restrictions to resume pending further arguments. The Biden administration has also sued the state over the law.

The ads in Texas aim at AT&T, which Corporate Accountability Action claims donated more than $645,000 over the past two years to nearly 22 lawmakers who sponsored the measure. The Dallas-based telecom company also donated thousands to Democratic lawmakers.



Representatives for NBC and Walt Disney, which have also donated to Democrats, did not immediately respond to email messages seeking comment.


The Texas ban prohibits abortions once cardiac activity is detected, usually around six weeks. The law’s novel enforcement mechanism kept it from being blocked by the Supreme Court: Private citizens, not the state, have the power to enforce the law through civil suits that can net them $10,000.

Pressuring corporations to pull support and business from states that pass controversial laws has some record of success. Supporters of the practice say North Carolina lost $3.76 billion in business after passing a law requiring transgender people to use the bathroom of their birth certificate in 2016. That pressure led to a compromise and partial repeal.



But that didn’t deter Tesla CEO Elon Musk from announcing he would move the electric carmaker’s headquarters from the San Francisco Bay area to Austin, a tech hub and the capital of Texas.

