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Katy Perry donates $13k to Planned Parenthood in wake of Trump election win

Amy Croffey

In the midst of anti-Trump protests, people who support the reproductive rights of women have started making donations to the cause, including pop star Katy Perry.

Perry, the daughter of two Protestant Christian pastors, donated $A13,000 last weekend to Planned Parenthood – a nonprofit organisation that provides reproductive health services for women, including affordable birth control and access to safe, legal abortion.

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Women shocked by Trump win

Women across the United States voted for Hillary Clinton in hopes of elevating the first woman to the presidency. They were later met with disappointment when Donald Trump triumphed instead.

Other women have started donating to the organisation, which Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States promised during his campaign he would stop funding.

 

It's time to turn words into action❗️There are so many steps to take, but my first vow is to support organizations that may have their funding support taken from them in the future by the government. I am making a public donation to Planned Parenthood for the teenage me who made several visits to first a clinic in Santa Barbara and then Los Angeles, CA to educate myself on my sexual health, a subject I had little to no information on because of my sheltered upbringing. I had no idea how things worked down there, and had no idea how to make a plan for them. Planned Parenthood educated me on my body and my reproductive health, so that I could focus on my dreams and using my voice until I knew the timing was right for me to make a plan to have a family. Since then, I have been able to focus wholeheartedly on bringing messages of strength and becoming a voice for others. Without this education, I may have had a different life path. That is just my experience, but I know Planned Parenthood's broader range of services can sometimes be the only medical support low-income families ever see. I know what it's like to need help. I came from a lower- to middle-class family and never grew up with the option of health insurance. I remember having 13 cavities as a teenager, and the best option my parents could come up with was to try and take me to Mexico because we couldn't afford anything in California. I am grateful for and stand in support of Planned Parenthood for giving Katheryn Hudson the knowledge to plan, and for continuing to be a haven for women to learn all options for their future. Now, more than ever, we all need to protect and create safe places for each other. I hope I can help inspire you to make a gift as well, and become a member and an ally. Go to: https://www.plannedparenthood.org to show your support. #wewontgoback

A photo posted by KATY PERRY (@katyperry) on

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Perry, one of Hillary Clinton's biggest supporters, said Planned Parenthood had helped provide the sexual education that her "sheltered upbringing" had not provided.

"I am making a public donation to Planned Parenthood for the teenage me who made several visits to first a clinic in Santa Barbara and then Los Angeles, CA to educate myself on my sexual health, a subject I had little to no information on because of my sheltered upbringing," she wrote.

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"I had no idea how things worked down there, and had no idea how to make a plan for them. Planned Parenthood educated me on my body and my reproductive health, so that I could focus on my dreams and using my voice until I knew the timing was right for me to make a plan to have a family ... Without this education, I may have had a different life path.

Vice President-elect Mike Pence is the man spearheading the campaign to defund Planned Parenthood. The governor of Indiana and staunch evangelical Christian is a strong anti-abortion advocate and in 2007 he sponsored an amendment to block funding to the organisation.

Katy Perry with Hillary Clinton last week.
Katy Perry with Hillary Clinton last week. Photo: Daniel Acker

"He continued to introduce similar legislation until 2011, when the House of Representatives passed a bill blocking federal funds for the organisation. (The bill later failed in the Senate.) Under his time as governor of Indiana, he passed severely restrictive laws regulating access to abortion in the state, and he slashed state funding to Planned Parenthood in particular. This led to five Planned Parenthood clinics shutting down; these closures were later tied to a HIV outbreak in one of the counties where a clinic was forced to shut its doors," Bustle explains.

Women who want to send Trump, who once described breastfeeding as "disgusting", and Pence a strong protest message have also started donating to Planned Parenthood ... in Pence's name.

 

Done and done @ppact

A photo posted by @amyschumer on

Amy Schumer isn't the only one:

As well as donations, others are encouraging women to get long-acting contraceptives like IUDs immediately, in case of Planned Parenthoods closures or cutbacks.

Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, said in a statement after Trump's win: "There are almost no words to capture the threat that this election result poses to our democracy, to our economic security, to access to reproductive healthcare and most especially to the safety and dignity of people of colour."

While the future of the organisation stands in limbo, its message on Twitter was powerful and simple: "These doors stay open."

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