The new Women's Strike Force PAC designed to defeat lawmakers who support the controversial fetal ultrasound measure and the "personhood" bill, which would define life as beginning at the moment of conception, announced Tuesday that it received $1,600 in its first hour of existence.
Memberrs of the PAC did not say how much money was donated to its cause in it's first day of existence Monday, but Women's Strike Force spokeswoman Rebecca Geller said, "we have received donations nationwide ranging from as little as $5 from students to $10,000 from major contributors.”
Geller credited the PAC being featured Monday on MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show" and write up in a number of publications, as well as a strong social media presence for the donations.
“When Rachel Maddow announced our PAC on her show, we received over 100 hits and donations in three minutes! Men and women around the country are fired up about what’s happening here and want to fight for the women in Virginia,” said Women's Strike Force co-chair and former Newport News Del. Robin Abbott.
In a statement members of the PAC reiterated that the Women's Strike Force is made of Democrats, Republicans and Independents.
Co-Chair and former Independent Del. Katherine Waddell, who was previously a Republican, said she has many friends in the GOP interested in stopping legislation that threatens women's reproductive rights.
"So many of my friends are Republican women. They say to me all the time, 'What are we going to do about this? We're tired of this. What can we do to make it stop?'," Waddell said. “ (I) was very active in the Republican Party, and it's upsetting to watch what's happened to the party because we always believed in limited government and individual freedom and the right to privacy. I've watched them move completely away from that to total government intrusion into women's personal private lives. There is a section of the Republican party who respect women’s reproductive rights, and they need to be heard.”
I support the " Women's Strike Force" led by Del. Robin Abbott to protect women's reproductive rights.
Posted by: Pearl Davis | Saturday, March 03, 2012 at 08:48 AM