Exclusive: Planned Parenthood Just Got a $1 Million Donation From This Businesswoman

[babylonsister]

http://fortune.com/2017/02/14/planned-parenthood-donation-wynn/

Exclusive: Planned Parenthood Just Got a $1 Million Donation From This Businesswoman
Valentina Zarya
Feb 14, 2017


Planned Parenthood just got another windfall donation from a powerful woman.

Elaine Wynn has donated $1 million to the women's health organization, Fortune has learned. “As a woman, a mother, and a grandmother, I’m proud to do what I can to help protect access to reproductive health care,” the billionaire said in an emailed statement.

Wynn credits her decision to donate to last month's Women's March on Washington, as well as Facebook (fb, -0.15%) COO Sheryl Sandberg's decision to donate the same amount. “I’m a firm believer in the importance of women helping women, and as a longtime supporter of Planned Parenthood, I know that they’ve done so much to help women get the health care they need," Wynn said.

snip//

While the added funds undoubtedly help, Richards said that they "will never be able to replace the reimbursements we receive from federal programs for health services." She noted that shutting down federal support for the program "would deny millions of people—nearly half of whom are people of color, and many people who live in rural areas— the health care they rely on. Shutting down Planned Parenthood would create a national health disaster for women."

Last month, President Trump reinstated the global "gag rule," which bars international NGOs that perform or promote abortions from receiving U.S. government funding. It was this ruling that spurred action from Sandberg, who wrote a Facebook post in which she voiced her opposition to the ruling:

"We don't have to guess—we know what this will do," she wrote of Trump's executive action. "The last time the global gag rule was in effect, research showed more women who lost access to contraception had unwanted pregnancies and abortion rates doubled. The best way to prevent abortion is through more family planning services, not fewer."

[obamanut2012]

1. Wynn is the co-founder of Mirage Resorts and Wynn Resorts

Important to know.