NEWS FLASH

Spending On Abortion Lobbying Falls, Despite New State Restrictions | Abortion-related lobbying dropped significantly in 2011, both for choice advocates and for abortion opponents, despite the onslaught of anti-abortion legislation around the country (in the first six months of 211, states enacted 162 abortion restrictions). According to a report by OpenSecrets, anti-choice groups still spent more than their pro-choice counterparts, but the numbers were down altogether: “Pro-choice groups spent just $238,000 lobbying this year, which is down 75 percent from the $969,000 they spent in the closing months of 2011. Planned Parenthood, which leads the category, spent just $128,000, less than the organization has spent in any three-month period since the second quarter of 2010.”