Planned Parenthood Southeast’s Alabama PAC, which was formed to oppose the state’s proposed pro-life “Amendment Two,” received a $50,000 dark-money contribution from California on Monday to aid in their efforts.
The PAC, called Alabama for Healthy Families, received the large donation from San Jose, California-based “Planned Parenthood Advocates of Mar Monte,” according to a mandatory public filing made on Wednesday.
In its September financial disclosure filed the day previous, the PAC reported significant in-kind contributions totaling $27,349.50 from Planned Parenthood Southeast itself, “Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity” in Washington, D.C., Planned Parenthood Action Fund in New York City, the ACLU of Alabama and ACLU, Inc. in New York City.
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Mar Monte, which doled out the eye-popping contribution of $50,000, is registered as a federal 501(c)(4). This means that it can operate as a PAC without disclosing its contributors as long as under 50 percent of the organization’s funds are spent for nonpolitical purposes. So, in this case, Alabamians will probably never know exactly which out-of-state liberal individual(s) or entity is truly behind the attack on Amendment Two.
The contribution to Alabama for Healthy Families is the latest in a string of eyebrow-raising transactions by the PAC, with serious questions so far left unanswered about whether the state’s PAC-to-PAC transfer ban has been, and still is being, broken.
Amendment Two “would add language to the state constitution acknowledging the sanctity of unborn life and stipulating that the state constitution provides no right to abortion.” You can read the objective Fair Ballot Commission’s write-up on the amendment here. Alabamians will vote on Amendment Two on the November 6 General Election ballot.
Along with Planned Parenthood and the ACLU, Democratic gubernatorial nominee and Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox are working to defeat this amendment.
Looking to get involved in the fight against Amendment 2? Join our canvass this weekend in Montgomery! Sign up through the google form below for more information.https://t.co/itvx0QtPe9 pic.twitter.com/MKFuINio0W
— Alabama for Healthy Families (@ALHealthyFam) October 3, 2018
Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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