These six corporations are financing the war on women in six states

In 2019, state legislatures across the country are enacting radical new restrictions on abortion. Alabama banned virtually all abortions. Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Ohio banned all abortions after six weeks, which is before many women even know they are pregnant. Missouri banned abortion after nine weeks.

While these policies are extreme, the politicians responsible have the financial backing of some of America's largest companies. In their corporate literature, these companies present themselves as champions of women and gender equality. But they have collectively donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to politicians seeking to roll back reproductive rights.

Popular Information reviewed campaign finance reports in the six states that passed significant abortion restrictions this year --  Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio, and Missouri. We looked at corporate contributions to the political leaders most responsible for the abortion legislation in each state, including the Governor and the leadership of the legislature.

This report details the contributions from six corporations that showed up frequently in the recent campaign finance reports of the politicians in these six states leading the charge to ban abortion.

AT&T: $196,600 across six states

According to AT&T's corporate website, the company makes "sure women at AT&T feel supported in everything they do."

"We have many incredibly talented female leaders at all levels and in all businesses across our company… Equality at AT&T will remain my top priority," Corey Anthony, the company's Chief Diversity Officer said.

AT&T has donated nearly $200,000 to politicians that advocated for and enacted abortion bans in six states.

$2,600 to Missouri Governor Mike Parson

$2,300 to Missouri House Speaker Elijah Haahr

$3,000 to Missouri Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden

$113,000 to Alabama Governor Kay Ivey

$10,000 to Alabama Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth

$2,250 to Alabama House Majority Leader Nathaniel Ledbetter

$2,000 to Alabama House Speaker Mac McCutcheon

$2,500 to Alabama Senate Majority Leader Greg Reed

$6,600 to Georgia Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan

$2,600 to Georgia House Speaker David Ralston

$1,000 to Georgia Senate Majority Leader Mike Dugan

$500 to Kentucky Speaker David Osborne

$2,000 to Kentucky Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer

$15,000 to Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant

$2,000 to Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn

$10,000 to Mississippi Lt. Governor Tate Reeves

$1,000 to Mississippi Senate President Pro Tempore Terry Burton

$5,000 to Ohio Governor Mike DeWine

$5,500 to Ohio House Speaker Ryan Smith

$7,750 to Ohio Senate President Larry Obhof

Walmart: $57,700 across six states

Walmart says it's committed "to celebrating, developing and lifting up women around the world – both within the company and in the communities we serve."

The company donated at least $57,700 to politicians that advocated for and enacted abortion bans in six states.

$500 to Missouri Governor Mike Parson

$2,000 to Alabama House Majority Leader Nathaniel Ledbetter

$3,000 to Alabama House Speaker Mac McCutcheon

$2,000 to Alabama Senate Majority Leader Greg Reed

$6,600 to Georgia Governor Brian Kemp

$5,000 to Georgia Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan

$5,100 to Georgia House Speaker David Ralston

$2,000 to Kentucky Speaker David Osborne

$1,000 to Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers

$1,500 to Kentucky Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer

$7,500 to Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn

$2,500 to Mississippi Lt. Governor Tate Reeves

$1,000 to Mississippi Senate President Pro Tempore Terry Burton

$7,000 to Ohio Governor Mike DeWine

$1,000 to Ohio House Speaker Ryan Smith

$10,000 to Ohio Senate President Larry Obhof

Pfizer: $53,650 across six states

Pfizer touts its commitment to gender equality, including access to health care.

Investments in women’s health and gender equality must be prioritized to help create healthier communities worldwide, not just on International Women’s Day, but every day. By harnessing our collective efforts to press forward for gender equality, we can make a difference in the lives of women who need it most.

The company donated at least $53,650 to politicians that advocated for and enacted abortion bans in six states.

$2,600 to Missouri Governor Mike Parson

$1,500 to Missouri House Speaker Elijah Haahr

$1,250 to Missouri Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden

$5,000 to Alabama Governor Kay Ivey

$500 to Alabama Senate Majority Leader Greg Reed

$6,600 to Georgia Governor Brian Kemp

$5,000 to Georgia Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan

$3,000 to Georgia House Speaker David Ralston

$2,000 to Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin

$1,000 to Kentucky Speaker David Osborne

$1,000 to Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers

$1,500 to Kentucky Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer

$1,000 to Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant

$5,000 to Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn

$1,000 to Mississippi Lt. Governor Tate Reeves

$500 to Mississippi Senate President Pro Tempore Terry Burton

$12,700 to Ohio Governor Mike DeWine

$1,750 to Ohio House Speaker Ryan Smith

$750 to Ohio Senate President Larry Obhof

Eli Lilly: $66,250 across five states

Eli Lilly says it is working to remove "any hidden barriers for women and minorities – to pave the way for a more open, engaging and inclusive culture for everyone."

The company donated at least $66,250 to politicians that advocated for and enacted abortion bans in five states.

$3,000 to Missouri House Speaker Elijah Haahr

$1,000 to Missouri Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden

$30,000 to Alabama Governor Kay Ivey

$3,000 to Alabama House Speaker Mac McCutcheon

$2,000 to Alabama Senate Majority Leader Greg Reed

$4,000 to Georgia Governor Brian Kemp

$2,500 to Georgia Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan

$1,000 to Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant

$7,000 to Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn

$1,000 to Mississippi Lt. Governor Tate Reeves

$1,000 to Mississippi Senate President Pro Tempore Terry Burton

$5,000 to Ohio Governor Mike DeWine

$5,750 to Ohio Senate President Larry Obhof

Coca-Cola: $40,800 across five states

Coca-Cola says there "is overwhelming evidence that achieving equality and empowerment for women has both immediate impacts that benefit them directly and broader ripple effects that are good for society."

The company donated at least $40,800 to politicians that advocated for and enacted abortion bans in five states.

$10,000 to Alabama Governor Kay Ivey

$2,500 to Alabama Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth

$2,500 to Alabama Senate Majority Leader Greg Reed

$6,600 to Georgia Governor Brian Kemp

$2,600 to Georgia Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan

$2,600 to Georgia House Speaker David Ralston

$500 to Georgia Senate Majority Leader Mike Dugan

$500 to Kentucky Speaker David Osborne

$500 to Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers

$2,500 to Kentucky Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer

$6,500 to Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn

$2,500 to Ohio Governor Mike DeWine

$1,000 to Ohio Senate President Larry Obhof

Aetna: $26,600 across four states

Aetna touts its commitment to women and its reliance on women as customers. "Women influence 80% of purchasing decisions today. They are the largest consumer and workforce group. Women’s views on health care and health care services are critical to our success," the company says.

The company donated at least $26,600 to politicians that advocated for and enacted abortion bans in four states.

$1,000 to Missouri Governor Mike Parson

$1,000 to Missouri House Speaker Elijah Haahr

$6,600 to Georgia Governor Brian Kemp

$2,500 to Georgia Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan

$4,500 to Georgia House Speaker David Ralston

$2,000 to Kentucky Speaker David Osborne

$750 to Kentucky Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer

$3,000 to Ohio House Speaker Ryan Smith

$5,250 to Ohio Senate President Larry Obhof

How states conceal corporate contributions

The information in this newsletter should be easy for anyone to obtain. But it's not.

States make it difficult to uncover corporate contributions to politicians. Each state has its own system and few of them are user-friendly.

Let's look, for example, at a search for contributions to Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant. A basic search brings up results for "Bryant Clark," who is the wrong person.

In order to get Phil Bryant's reports, it turns out, you need to search for "Candidate Committee," instead of "Candidate."

But when you "View Details" it only shows two reports and the most recent one is nearly two years old.

What's happening? Bryant closed his campaign committee and is routing all political donations through his Political Action Committee, Imagine Mississippi.

But that still doesn't explain why there are no reports before 2017. It turns out Bryant's earlier reports are available under a separate tab with an entirely different search function.

A search under that tab brings up a list of Bryant's earlier reports, posted as PDFs.

The PDFs are oriented the wrong way and cannot be searched.

But, if you flip the report around and carefully scroll through it, it reveals that Bryant received $15,000 from AT&T.

The information compiled in this newsletter involved repeating this process for each report for each legislative leader that helped enact an abortion ban.

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