Amazon, DoorDash and CVS Health are among major U.S. companies that are publicly committed to supporting reproductive rights and yet this year contributed to a group supporting the re-election of Todd Rokita, Indiana's Republican attorney general advocates a complete ban on abortion.

He was also reprimanded by his state Supreme Court for criticizing a doctor who performed an abortion on a 10-year-old Ohio rape victim.

The corporate donations listed in publicly available records went to the Republican Attorneys General Association, or Raga, a “527 committee.” – a tax-exempt political campaign group, so named in reference to US tax law. It's designed to funnel donated money across the country into important state races.

In 2024, Amazon, Doordash and CVS Health collectively donated $425,000 to Raga. And Raga donated $255,000 to Rokita, which also participated in a lawsuit against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over its housing of abortion workers; signed amicus briefs in a U.S. Supreme Court challenge to the approval of mifepristone, an abortion pill; and sought access to private health records to prosecute women seeking abortions.

Altria, AT&T and Comcast are also among the major publicly traded companies publicly supporting reproductive rights while donating to Raga, who supported campaigns for attorney general across the United States. (In 2024, Altria donated $450,000, AT&T donated $125,000, and Comcast donated $125,000.)

Donations to Republican and Democratic 527 committees have long been tracked by the Center for Political Accountability, a Washington think tank, which highlighted the donations to Raga and Rokita.

In August, Bruce Buchanan, a professor of business ethics at New York University's Stern School of Business, said in an introduction to a CPA report on 527 committees: “Their power far exceeds their media presence.” The American people are aware of their influence and even less aware of their financing and methods. That's unfortunate.

“…As major corporations open their checkbooks to these 527s – and particularly to the Republican Attorney Generals Association (Raga) – these funds will elect and re-elect public officials who actively advance policies that are at odds with interest groups throughout society.”

Many major U.S. companies made public statements in support of their employees in light of the Dobbs v. Jackson ruling, the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down federal abortion rights, and the resulting state bans.

In May 2022, after Dobbs leaked, Amazon told employees that it would cover up to $4,000 in travel expenses for non-life-threatening treatments, including abortions, if surgery was not performed within 100 miles of an employee's home be possible. In 2024, with strict post-Dobbs bans in place in Republican-led states, including Indiana, where Rokita has advocated for a total ban, Amazon has given Raga $150,000.

In June 2022, shortly after Dobbs, a DoorDash spokesperson said the company would cover “certain travel-related costs” for employees forced to travel abroad for abortion care, adding: “It is of the utmost importance that everyone DoorDash employees and their dependents are covered by us.” Health plans have equitable and timely access to safe health care.” This year, Doordash paid $150,000 to Raga.

CVS Health has stated that it is committed to “making out-of-state abortion health services more accessible and affordable for employees in states with abortion bans.” In 2024, it earned Raga $125,000.

The pattern of companies donating to Rokita through Raga – and other politicians who are at odds with the company’s stated values ​​– is repeated in climate policy. Amazon, Doordash and CVS Health are also publicly committed to taking action to combat climate change. In Indiana, Rokita was instrumental in lawsuits against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Securities and Exchange Commission over carbon emissions standards.

Neither company responded to requests for comment. In response to a Guardian report last year about donations to 527 committees used to pass a strict abortion ban in North Carolina, a spokesman for software giant Intuit outlined a company defense.

“Our financial support does not mean that we fully support every position taken by a single policymaker or organization,” the spokesperson said. “Intuit is impartial and works with policymakers and leaders on both sides to advocate for our customers. We believe that engaging with policymakers is essential to a strong democracy and that political donations are just one of many ways Intuit engages on behalf of its customers, employees and the communities it serves.”

In the same report, a Bank of America spokesman said 527 committees could only use their donations for “operational and administrative purposes, not to support candidates or ballot initiatives.” The CPA argued that given that there are 527 committees to elect governors, attorneys general and other state officials, this is a distinction without a difference.

In a statement to the Guardian about donations to Raga by companies publicly committed to supporting rights attacked by Republican attorneys general, Bruce Freed, president of the CPA and co-author of the 2024 report, said: “Today’s political environment makes it so More importantly, companies have policies and a framework in place to address, manage and assess the risks of political spending.

“They need this to have control over their spending and protect themselves.”

Mike Schmul, chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party, said his party's candidate against Rokita, Destiny Wells, is “the only candidate in the race for AG who first received the support of Hoosiers, not special interests and out-of-state megas.” -Donor.

“Todd Rokita is out of touch with the issues that matter, attacking women and doctors and threatening the medical privacy of Hoosiers. The choice is clear.”