Justice

Mike Pence Is About to Get a Big Thank You From Planned Parenthood

November 14th 2016

President-elect Donald Trump's victory inspired an influx of donations to Planned Parenthood in the name of the organization's most unlikely supporter, Vice President-elect Mike Pence.

planned-parenthoodBigstock/Wolterk - bigstockphoto.com

Women tweeted Saturday donations on behalf of Pence, a long time opponent of Planned Parenthood and the pro-choice movement.

Following suit were other notable figures, including band Best Coast, comedienne Amy Schumer and actress Amber Tamblyn, who all shared the message in viral Instagram posts.

Pence's record on women's health care attracted criticism long before Trump picked the Indiana governor as his running mate.

During his tenure in Congress, Pence sponsored six bills aiming to revoke all federal funding from Planned Parenthood dating back to 2007, the Guardian reports.

The organization's website credits Pence as "the guy that came up with the idea to 'defund' Planned Parenthood."

Gov. Mike PenceFlickr/Gage Skidmore - flic.kr

“Let the abortion providers provide for themselves,” Pence told Politico in 2011.

Pence signed numerous anti-choice bills as the governor of Indiana including HB 1337, a now-infamous piece of legislation among women's health advocates. The bill banned women from seeking abortions due to race, gender or fetal abnormalities. It also required women to bury or cremate fetuses after terminating pregnancies.

HB 1337 was ultimately blocked by a federal court, but not before it ignited massive outcries from pro-choice groups and the women of Indiana.

The bill inspired many outraged women to call Pence's office about their menstrual cycles in protest.

Woman Trolling PenceFacebook/Periods for Pence - facebook.com

Periods for PenceFacebook/Periods for Pence - facebook.com

Planned Parenthood tweeted about the influx of donations Saturday.

“We've seen an unprecedented outpouring support over the past few days, with over 128,000 people who have donated to make sure access to health care is protected," Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, told ATTN: Monday in a statement. "We are so grateful to this community across the country, and we will never stop fighting for them."

The statement went on to add: "The truth is that the majority of Americans, including Trump’s own voters, support access to health care at Planned Parenthood and do not want to see women lose access to safe, legal abortion. We will never back down, and we will never stop providing the care our patients need. These doors stay open, no matter what.”

Trump's precise policy plans about reproductive health care remain unclear, but he discussed abortion access Sunday during "60 Minutes."

On the page dedicated to healthcare, the Trump administration website says it will "protect innocent human life from conception to natural death."

ATTN: reached out to Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks for comment and will update this post if we hear back.

After the election, Planned Parenthood released statements about access to reproductive healthcare and how to support the organization.

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