Reading Lucien Greaves’ article on the Arkansas Ten Commandments ruling, what stands out isn’t just what he says, but what he leaves out. For a case built on a coalition, the silence around partner groups is hard to ignore. 🧵
Infernal Saint Nobody
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Some may consider me insignificant, but I am simply striving to live with integrity. I speak out when I see improprieties within the communities I am a part of.
![Beyond the legal purgatory, there’s the matter of resources in the abortion rights space: They’re desperately needed and woefully limited. TST is not only sharing information about its abortion ritual, but asking supporters to donate to its reproductive rights lawsuits and campaigns—$66 is the default donation amount, and $666 is another option—which is potentially siphoning money from, yes, abortion funds and clinics, but also groups that effectively strive to help people minimize the legal risks of self-managing their abortions.
While many abortion funds, including TEA Fund, publish annual financial summaries or topline stats, TST is rarely transparent about how much money it’s raising and how it’s spending it. On June 10, it announced that it had recently raised $150,000 to “support [its] campaign efforts and grant members the tools to receive medically safe abortions.” TST’s October 2021 newsletter said it had raised $200,000. But TST doesn’t publish this financial information on its site and has not filed Form 990s with the IRS, which it’s not required to do since it’s a church. Blackmore said TST owes its supporters more.
“As far as I know, TST lacks transparency in the form of public financial reporting so it is impossible to know how donated dollars are spent,” Blackmore said. “If TST wants more funding…make them prove that they are invested in the rights of pregnant people seeking an abortion rather than using them as an opportunity to turn a profit with the leftovers from their frivolous lawsuits.”
TST’s lawyer said any excess funds not spent on its various litigation efforts would be used “to support its members.”
Blackmore added that abortion-rights supporters should instead donate to groups “with a proven track record of success and whose funding directly supports those in need,” like abortion funds.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ec473dzaukltzxnvcjmgwrw6/bafkreigg33nvvd4woqxv6otn5634f67zxoqyio7kxrc3gip2vlinroukma)
