The name of a notorious late-term abortionist who is fighting to keep his clinic open made an appearance in a local newspaper this week over his notable campaign contributions to local Democratic candidates. Additional data obtained by LifeSiteNews also shows that one local Democrat on that list of candidates, Connie Pillich, includes the abortion industry among the top 10 industries that have supported her campaigns.
In an analysis of donor contributions in Southwest Ohio published on Thursday, Cincinnati Enquirer reporter Chrissie Thompson highlighted abortionist Dr. Martin Haskell as one Democrat donor who has been “in the news.”
The paper noted that Haskell has donated $3,450 to state Rep. Connie Pillich. Pillich represents the district in which Haskell's clinic, Women's Med., is located, and is running against incumbent state treasurer Josh Mandel, a Republican.
Haskell also donated $500 each to the Democratic challenger to Ohio's Attorney General and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ed Fitzgerald.
Thompson's analysis included data from January 2011 to June 13, 2014.
Haskell gained national attention after getting a “variance” from state officials excusing him from complying with a state law that required certain standards for abortion clinics, after he refused to do so. The standards included requirements that clinics be licensed as ambulatory surgical centers and have a transfer agreement with a local hospital. Haskell received the variance after fighting the state requirement for years.
More recently, Haskell has been fighting a renewed attempt to close his clinic after the Kasich administration took away the variance. In January, a judge put the state's attempt to shut down the clinic on hold, but required Haskell to “maintain adequate safety policies and procedures for admittance of any patient to a hospital as may be needed.”
Haskell's variance was pulled after the Ohio Department of Health noted he had replaced two doctors without telling the state, which was a violation of the conditions of the variance. Operation Rescue has also found evidence that several medical emergencies have taken place at Haskell's clinic, which have endangered the lives of pregnant mothers.
Political blogger Justin Higgins, who spent six years in Ohio politics as an activist, commentator, and elected GOP county official, told LifeSiteNews that “it's ironic that after losing a three-year frivolous fight against a pro-life group in the Supreme Court, Southwest Ohio Democrats are doubling down on their alliance with the abortion industry.”
“To make it worse,” said Higgins, “Pillich isn't just taking money from the big name pro-abortion players, but taking money from corrupt abortion doctors directly. That won't play well in any part of the state.”
Haskell has been involved in donating to campaigns since at least 1990, and Sunlight Foundation data provided to LifeSiteNews shows he has donated thousands of dollars in each two-year election cycle since 1998. Pillich, who has been in office since 2009, has also received donations from EMILY's List and Planned Parenthood, according to data provided to LifeSiteNews by the Sunlight Foundation.
One of her top financial supporters, Richard Rosenthal, has given $25,000. Rosenthal gave one million dollars to pro-Kerry 527 political groups in the 2004 election cycle.
Pillich has raised over $1.5 million. While her top donors are unions, the abortion industry has not shirked in backing her — it is her ninth largest donor. (The linked Sunlight Foundation analysis looks at industry donations, whereas Haskell's donations are listed as individual donations by the Ohio Secretary of State, which Thompson used as a source.)