Planned Parenthood prepares for midterm elections – plans on spending $50 million on campaigns and outreach

Planned Parenthood is gearing up to spend $50 million on campaigns for the midterm elections, the Associated Press reported.

The Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade handed power back to the states. The decision has Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider, prepared to spend a record-breaking amount on influencing voters to elect candidates who support unrestricted access to abortion.

The company plans to focus funds on gubernatorial races in states where Republican candidates are running on the promise of ending abortion. Those key states include Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

Planned Parenthood expressed concern that pro-life advocates may attempt a nationwide abortion ban in the future; therefore, it also plans on promoting pro-abortion candidates running for U.S. Senate.

The executive director of Planned Parenthood Votes, Jenny Lawson, told the Associated Press, "Who wins in these midterm elections will determine whether a state has access to abortion and potentially determine whether we will face a national abortion ban."

The organization hopes to reach 6 million voters by running radio ads, sending mailers, making phone calls, knocking on doors, and using digital advertising.

While Planned Parenthood is preparing to run more campaigns, earlier this month, it supported a public letter to media outlets by Physicians for Reproductive Health that requested pro-life advocates and campaigns stop receiving air time. It read, "We know your reporting standards are to cover 'both sides' of any debate. Allow us to be clear: Medicine and science are not up for debate."

The organization certainly is not short on funding this year. In March, MacKenzie Scott, Jeff Bezos' ex-wife, made the largest donation the organization has ever received at $275 million.

Ahead of the Supreme Court's June decision, Planned Parenthood poured $16 million into running media campaigns promoting nationwide access to abortion. It used the funds to purchase television, streaming, and digital ads.

While many issues are important to voters, the team at Planned Parenthood believes that abortion will be the defining issue for many in this upcoming election. Lawson stated, "When people go to vote this November, nearly half of the folks voting could be living in a state that either has already banned abortion or is quickly moving to ban abortion. These are entirely new circumstances."

Amy Kennedy, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood Votes in Georgia, said, "For us, this really is the most important election cycle of our life."