Inquiries into the tax records of two major so-called “free market” organizations linked to the Koch brothers have revealed that the right-wing billionaires have poured millions of dollars into the movement to ban abortions and deny contraceptive access to women, Raw Story reported.
While the Koch brothers have always claimed to be more interested in business policies rather than social issues, RH Reality Check and Politico unveiled their true political agenda: fueling the anti-choice movement.
After some digging into records, correspondent Adele Stan, found that tax documents show the Koch Brothers directed anti-abortion groups to back legislative proposals aimed at exclusively shutting down women’s health clinics and restricting women’s’ access to contraception and abortions.
“There is little doubt that the rash of anti-choice measures that flooded the legislative dockets in state capitols in 2013 was a coordinated effort by anti-choice groups and major right-wing donors lurking anonymously behind the facades of the non-profit “social welfare” organizations unleashed to tear up the political landscape, thanks to the high court’s decision in Citizens United. Helping to drive the right-wing offensive in the states and in Congress is a network of deep-pocketed business titans convened by the billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, principals in Koch Industries, the second-largest privately held corporation in the United States,” Stan wrote.
Politico further describes how the Koch network used shell company Freedom Partners, dubbed “Koch Brothers secret bank”, as an outlet for its ideas by awarding more than $236 million in funds to anti-abortion groups and far-right causes since November 2011.
Such groups include the Centre to Protect Patients Rights (CPPR), a group vigorously opposed to both abortion and Obamacare as well as social pressure groups and a think-thank policy group that works closely with the GOP.
This week, at a press conference, Jodi Jacobson, President and Editor-in-Chief of RH Reality Check explained how anti-abortion groups and legislators have orchestrated a concerted effort over time to deny women their reproductive rights, Raw Story reported:
“Over the past ten years, so-called pro-life groups and legislators such as Congressman Paul Ryan have increasingly been involved in efforts to deny women their rights while simultaneously shredding the social safety net on which the most vulnerable in this society depend. It is a marriage of ‘church and commerce’ not previously seen in the United States. Now it is clear that the Koch brothers are pouring money into a policy agenda that recognizes both corporations and fertilized eggs as people, but not the personhood of women,” she said.
We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.
As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.
Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.
As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.
At Truthout, we are reaffirming our commitments on this front: We won’t run ads or have a paywall because we believe that everyone should have access to information, and that access should exist without barriers and free of distractions from craven corporate interests. We recognize the implications for democracy when information-seekers click a link only to find the article trapped behind a paywall or buried on a page with dozens of invasive ads. The laws of capitalism dictate an unending increase in monetization, and much of the media simply follows those laws. Truthout and many of our peers are dedicating ourselves to following other paths – a commitment which feels vital in a moment when corporations are evermore overtly embedded in government.
Over 80 percent of Truthout‘s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and the remaining 20 percent comes from a handful of social justice-oriented foundations. Over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors, many of whom give because they want to help us keep Truthout barrier-free for everyone.
You can help by giving today. Whether you can make a small monthly donation or a larger gift, Truthout only works with your support.