(Will be updated as needed)
A coalition of abortion rights supporters rolled up more than a half-million dollars in their efforts to defeat a constitutional amendment that would reverse a state Supreme Court ruling that found the right to an abortion is constitutionally protected.
Kansans for Constitutional Freedom Inc. reported raising $594,000 last year, including $132,760 from in-kind contributions.
The group had about $300,000 in cash on hand at the end of 2021, campaign finance reports show compared to about $1 million that the supporters of the amendment had on hand.
While the amount raised by the group was hefty – it outpaces what any statewide candidates raised last year – it still came up about $600,000 short of what supporters of the amendment took in last year.
The constitutional freedom coalition’s report brings to about $1.8 million what has already been raised for the Aug. 2 vote.
The coalition created to oppose the amendment has a board of directors that includes representatives of Planned Parenthood and URGE: Unite
d for Reproductive & Gender Equity.
State records show that Rachel Sweet represents Planned Parenthood and Kimberly Inez McGuire represents URGE.
Those groups were among several making $132,760 in in-kind contributions, including $72,000 from Trust Women, about $37,000 from Planned Parenthood Great Plains, about $7,000 from the Planned Parenthood Action Fund in New York, about $10,000 from URGE about $6,300 from the ACLU of Kansas.
In other contributions, ACLU-affiliated groups contributed $235,000, Planned Parenthood put in $110,000 and $75,000 from Merle C. Chambers, a former oil and gas executive turned philanthropist.
Chambers is the founder of the Chambers Family Fund, which donates to abortion and left-leaning advocacy causes, as well as nonpolitical arts and other entities.
