Yesterday we all bore witness as 50 years of reproductive rights were reversed by the Supreme Court. And while many of us feel devastated, afraid, and angry, we aren’t letting it immobilize us, and our favorite celebrities are joining the fight. Lizzo for one is taking immediate action. On Friday evening, the singer tweeted that she pledged $500,000 to Planned Parenthood and the National Network of Abortion Funds (NNAF) from the profits of her upcoming Special tour.
“Live Nation agreed to match— to make it 1 MILLION dollars,” she also tweeted.
According to CNBC, since states have now been granted the decision making power to dictate whether or not access to abortion will be legal, some states have issued immediate responses. Arkansas for instance began canceling abortion appointments that had been scheduled for weeks right after the announcement was made. For many individuals who will potentially need to leave their home state to receive the proper health care they deserve, travel costs could become a restriction. Funds being collected by organizations like NNAF will assist with these needs, as well as provide other resources.
“The most important thing is action & loud voices,” Lizzo wrote in a follow-up tweet. “@PPFA @AbortionFunds & organizations like them— will need funding to continue offering services to people who are most harmed by this ban.”
Lizzo later took her urgings to Instagram where she asked her fans to contribute via her website, lizzolovesyou.com. “...Sign the Bans Off My Body petition and sign up to volunteer,” she wrote.
The “Grrrls” singer isn’t the only high profile voice we heard on Friday. Former First Lady, Michelle Obama released her official statement via her social platforms as well.
“That is what our mothers and grandmothers and great-grandmothers lived through, and now here we are again,” Obama wrote in her statement.
“So yes, I am heartbroken — for the teenage girl full of zest and promise, who won’t be able to finish school or live the life she wants because her state controls her reproductive decisions; for the mother of a nonviable pregnancy who is now forced to bring that pregnancy to term; for the parents watching their child’s future evaporate before their very eyes; for the health care workers who can no longer help them without risking jail time.”
Tv personality Ziwe, politician Stacy Abrams, and rappers JT, Latto and more have all made public statements in support of abortion rights as well.