Judd Legum and Tesnim Zekeria report:

Texas just enacted the nation’s most draconian abortion ban, prohibiting all abortions after six weeks — before many women even know they are pregnant. There are no exceptions for rape or incest. Further, the law places a $10,000 bounty on anyone who helps a woman obtain an abortion in Texas after six weeks. Private citizens can collect the bounty by filing a lawsuit.

The politicians who sponsored Texas’ abortion ban are backed by some of the nation’s most prominent corporations. These same corporations hold themselves out as champions of women’s rights.

AT&T, for example, is one of the top donors to the sponsors of Texas’ abortion ban, also known as SB 8. Since 2018, AT&T has donated $301,000 to the sponsors of SB 8. Yet, in AT&T’s 2020 Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Report, CEO John Stankey said one of the company’s “core values” was “gender equity and the empowerment of women.”

On August 26, AT&T celebrated “Women’s Equality Day,” saying it was “a day to reflect on the many challenges women in our society still face to achieve equity.” The company said that it believed “empowered women are key to the success of their communities.”

Popular Information asked AT&T whether it supported SB 8 or would continue to financially back the Texas legislators behind the bill. The company did not respond. [Continue reading…]