AT&T is being targeted by a Democratic super-PAC headed by an ex-president of Planned Parenthood for donations it made to Texas lawmakers who supported the bill banning most abortions in Texas.
American Bridge, a PAC member, said that the PAC plans to place ads on The Dallas Morning News’ digital edition starting Tuesday. A television ad will also be run soon. CNBC.
According to a PAC member, a similar ad will be run in Florida because a Republican lawmaker in Florida has introduced a similar bill.
“AT&T helped fund the anti-abortion politicians who wrote the dangerous law,” CNBC reported a copy of the digital ad says. A picture of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, is shown on-screen.
The ad tells voters to ”Tell @ATT to get #Offthebanwagon” and “stop funding anti-abortion extremists in Texas.”
According to the news site Popular Information, AT&T was one of the top contributors to lawmakers who supported the bill, also known as Senate Bill 8. They gave more than $300,000. to them each year since 2018. However, AT&T claims that it doesn’t support abortion and has donated to those opposed to the bill.
“AT&T has never taken a position on the issue of abortion, and the Texas legislation was no exception. AT&T did not endorse nor support passage of Senate Bill 8 in the Texas legislature,” a company spokesman said in an email to CNBC.
“AT&T’s employee political action committees have never based contribution decisions on a legislator’s positions on the issue of abortion, and employee PAC contributions to Texas legislators went to both opponents and supporters of Senate Bill 8,” the email continued.
According to the spokesperson, no policy changes are planned for the company’s giving.
Cecile Richards, co-chairman of American Bridge, and former president, of Planned Parenthood, said to CNBC that these spots are just the beginning of their fight.
“This abortion ban — part of the Republican plan to make reproductive health care completely out-of-reach — is devastating, which is why companies that backed the lawmakers responsible for this cannot be permitted to bury their heads in the sand,” Richards said.
