As far-left corporate policies such as DEI and ESG fall under increased public scrutiny, a new fight has opened on the abortion front. Now, this fight has come to Texas.
The American Accountability Foundation, a non-partisan watchdog group, sent an e-mail to state lawmakers on Monday questioning why any alleged Republican lobbyist would represent a woke firm such as Blackrock that is actively promoting abortion.
AAF had previously warned these lawmakers about working with lobbyists who support anti-oil and gas policies.
At issue now is a vote taken by Blackrock on a proxy resolution at Pfizer’s most recent corporate meeting.
In the email, obtained by Texas Scorecard, AAF asks lawmakers if they will continue to work with Blackrock lobbyists:
You may be more familiar with BlackRock’s anti-oil and gas activities, but don’t kid yourself, the company is firmly in league with the abortion industry (and the LGBTQ zealots, and the DEI advocates.) And that’s why it is so shameful that Johanna Kim, Lauren Spreen, and Carolyn Merchan Saegert are their voices in Austin. Someone who is a conservative should have nothing to do with a company that is so tightly in league with the abortion industry.
BlackRock’s voting at Pfizer is a clear example. Pfizer had before it an aggressive pro-abortion resolution designed to cut off funding for pro-life groups. The language was radical and showed a shocking disregard for the unborn.
Item 5 – Shareholder Proposal Regarding Political Spending Report
Pfizer manufactures contraceptives and a drug commonly prescribed for use as an abortifacient. Yet the above-cited report notes that Pfizer was a top contributor to a 527 organization that funds state legislators’ efforts to implement extreme anti-abortion measures. The 2019 report Funding the Bans estimated that Pfizer donated more than $50,000 to politicians in six states responsible for that year’s wave of abortion bans. The proponent estimates that in the last three election cycles, Pfizer and its employee PACs have made political donations totaling at least $8.4 million to politicians and political organizations working to weaken women’s access to reproductive health care.”
However, the pro-abortion resolution before the shareholders would have cut off this funding.
This language was not ambiguous or complicated, it was praising Pfizer for its manufacture of abortifacients, and it was explicitly calling for cutting off funding from groups and lawmakers who are working to protect the unborn.
BlackRock voted for this resolution.
This stuff isn’t complicated. There’s organized and focused work on the left to protect the abortion industry. The left is pulling out all the stops, and for them that includes companies on Wall Street.
The question is simple, are you going to work with lobbyists who shill for the abortion industry’s Wall Street enabler – BlackRock – or are you going to say, “Until you get right on this issue, and drop abortion industry supporter BlackRock, we aren’t going to work with you or the companies you represent.”
The Texas Legislature is slated to reconvene in January 2025.
Lauren Spreen told Texas Scorecard she doesn’t have any comment on the letter.
Neither Johanna Kim or Carolyn Merchan Saegert responded to Texas Scorecard‘s request for comment.
