ACLU pumps $1 million into Virginia on abortion ads

The American Civil Liberties Union is pumping a last-minute $1 million into Virginia’s legislative elections to push messaging on abortion.

Abortion has become the primary topic for Democrats this election, as Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) seeks a governing trifecta to put in place a 15-week abortion restriction.

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Virginia is the last state in the South without at least a 15-week restriction, and the ACLU, which supports abortion, is spending about $1.25 million through Election Day on advertising such as mailers, volunteer outreach, and digital ads.

According to Mary Bauer, the ACLU of Virginia’s executive director, this independent investment in state legislative races is the first of its kind, and the target is to encourage abortion traveling from the rest of the South into Virginia.

“We think it’s really critical because what happens this year determines whether abortion, reproductive rights will be safe for Virginians,” she told the Virginian-Pilot. “And not only Virginians, but people from all over the South who are traveling to Virginia to access care.”

The ACLU is targeting 11 districts, five in the Senate and six in the House, to show how the Democrats support abortion. The ACLU does not endorse candidates, however.

Last Friday, Women Speak Out Virginia, a partner of the national organization Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, announced $1.5 million to support Republican candidates who support a 15-week restriction on abortion. They are also targeting Democrats to “expose the extremism” of candidates who “support abortion up until the moment of birth.”

“Hundreds of lives each year depend on pro-life Virginians showing up on Nov. 7 and casting their ballots for Republican candidates,” SBA President Marjorie Dannenfelser said. “Candidates across this country should take note of how Republicans in Virginia are leading on life by going on offense, calling out the lies of the abortion lobby and exposing their opponents as the true extremists when it comes to abortion.”

Youngkin’s Spirit of Virginia PAC, on the other hand, made abortion the subject of its first ad buy for the election cycle, a $1.4 million push calling Democratic “ban” messaging “disinformation.”

All 140 seats of Virginia’s House and Senate are up for election this year, which will be set in the context of the first contest since the overturn of Roe v. Wade last summer. Youngkin currently faces a divided government, with Democrats holding a narrow majority in the Senate and Republicans holding a narrow majority in the House.

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Abortion has become the overwhelming focus of Democrats, particularly in the battleground districts that make control of both houses a toss-up.

Youngkin attempted a 15-week abortion limit with exceptions for rape, incest, and life of the mother earlier this year, which passed the House but was killed by Democrats in the Senate. The Old Dominion Republican and others in his party have pitched the restriction to Virginians as a reasonable consensus on limiting the procedure.