Former Facebook chief donates $3m to fight anti-abortion laws

Former Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg has donated $3m (£2.6m) to support the fight for abortion rights in America, following the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v Wade.

Ms Sandberg, who has three teenage daughters and whose net worth is $2.1bn, is donating 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.

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

Anthony Romero, executive director of 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.

Former Meta Platforms operating chief Ms Sandberg, who was Mark Zuckerberg’s 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” and said: “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.

Representative Mike Johnson and more than 40 other members of Congress demanded that Citigroup's contract with the government be cancelled because of its abortion travel policy.

“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.