Billionaire Mackenzie Scott announced she plans to give away most of the wealth she received from her divorce with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Planned Parenthood is one of the lucky recipients, receiving a donation of $275 million.
Scott is said to be worth roughly $49 billion and received a 4 percent stake in Amazon.com from her divorce. Planned Parenthood announced the donation will go to its national office and 21 regional affiliates.
Planned Parenthood published a press release on its website, titled “Historic Private Donation Demonstrates Strength of Planned Parenthood’s Community Health Center Network in Providing Much Needed Sexual and Reproductive Health Care.”
The donation is the largest gift from a single donor in the history of Planned Parenthood. In a statement from president and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson, she wrote “this funding will support our efforts to advance health equity by eliminating racial and structural barriers for our patients in the communities where Planned Parenthood works.”
“Black women experience disproportionately higher rates of maternal mortality, STIs, and will be most hurt by the loss of abortion access in the South and Midwest. By starting with the Black health experience in partnership with local communities, we see this as an opportunity to not only improve health outcomes for Black patients, but to transform how all patients, especially those of color and those in rural and low-income communities, experience our health care, education, and organizing efforts. In future years, I hope his is what it means to Be Seen.”
President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast (PPGC) Melaney Linton wrote in her statement, “2021 was the worst year for abortion rights since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973; more than 100 abortion restrictions were enacted across the country and already in 2022, more than 300 abortion restrictions have been introduced across 41 states.”
The statement also attacked the Texas abortion ban and a Mississippi abortion ban “that could overturn Roe by this summer.” Linton blasted the Supreme Court for having “turned its back on our long-established constitutional rights.”