Sandberg donates $3m to battle antiabortion laws

FORMER Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg has donated $3m (£2.6m) to support the fight for abortion rights in the United States, following the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v Wade.

Ms Sandberg, whose net worth is around $1.7bn, is giving the money to the non-profit American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to give its political arm a “running start” against state anti-abortion efforts, Bloomberg reported.

The ACLU was founded in 1920 to defend Americans’ constitutional rights and is considered America’s largest public interest law firm, arguing thousands of cases a year.

Anthony Romero, the executive director of the ACLU, said he hoped Ms Sandberg’s donation would encourage other ultra-wealthy individuals to follow suit. The funds are expected to go towards fighting legal battles over abortion rights.

The former chief operating officer of Meta Platforms, who was Mark Zuckerberg’s

‘This is a really important moment for women, a really important moment for me to be able to do more’

top lieutenant for 14 years, said it was “unfathomable” that her daughters will grow up with fewer rights than she had. In June, she called the overturning of Roe v Wade a “huge setback”, adding: “This is a really important moment for women.

“This is a really important moment for me to be able to do more with my philanthropy, with my foundation.”

The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the landmark ruling, which enshrined the right to abortion half a century ago, paved the way for about half of the 50 US states to ban or heavily restrict abortion.

Many businesses have promised to cover travel costs for those seeking abortions in future. Citigroup, the world’s largest credit card issuer, earlier this year faced a backlash from Republicans who wanted the US government to end all ties with the bank as a result of its promise to pay for staff who might need to travel to receive an abortion.

Republican Representative Mike Johnson and more than 40 other members of Congress demanded that Citigroup’s contract with the government be cancelled. “By offering to pay its employees in their efforts to terminate the lives of the unborn, Citi has forfeited its privilege of doing business with the House of Representatives,” a letter sent to House chief administrative officer Catherine Szpindor read.