Group linked to anti-abortion mega-donors pours money into Alabama supreme court race

A group connected to anti-abortion billionaire Trump mega-donors has funneled more than half a million dollars to an Alabama supreme court judicial candidate who said “embryos were human beings whose lives begin at fertilization”.

Alabama’s supreme court was thrust into the limelight earlier this month when eight of the court’s nine justices ruled that embryos created for in vitro fertilization (IVF) were “extrauterine children” in the eyes of the law.

The decision forced three of the state’s eight fertility clinics to stop providing advanced treatments, infuriated doctors, and left hundreds of would-be parents with few options for continuing treatment. At least one company that ships frozen embryos has paused business in the state, making it difficult to ship existing embryos elsewhere.

Donald Trump, now the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has attempted to back away from the Alabama supreme court’s ruling. Trump reportedly sees extreme abortion bans as a threat to Republican victories. Republicans more broadly have struggled to respond to the decision.

The group funding the Alabama candidate, Fair Courts America, is connected to anti-abortion billionaire mega-donors Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein. Fair Courts America represents the only outside group donating in Alabama’s upcoming primary race for supreme court chief justice, scheduled to take place next week.

The race pits the long-shot candidate Bryan Taylor, backed by the Uihlein-affiliated Fair Courts America, against the sitting supreme court justice Sarah Stewart. A recent Fair Courts America ad told voters: “If you like Trump’s judges, you’ll love Bryan Taylor.” Trump confirmed three justices to the US supreme court, including at least one who supported a