(Washington) Amazon founder and ex-wife of multi-billionaire Jeff Bezos, American philanthropist Mackenzie Scott has donated $ 275 million to Planned Parenthood, which runs health centers in the United States, including abortion clinics.
Posted at 1:55 pm yesterday.
The donation comes as several traditionally-controlled US states have been seeking to restrict access to abortion, which has been protected by a Supreme Court ruling since 1973.
The Planned Parenthood donation was hailed as “the largest in the history of the organization from a personal donor”.
Alexis McGill Johnson, president of Planned Parenthood, said in a statement that the funds would be used for programs to “remove racial and structural barriers” that burden African-American women.
She recalls that African-American women are disproportionately affected by maternal mortality, sexually transmitted diseases, and limited access to abortion options in the south and center of the country.
“This generous donation comes at a time when sexual and reproductive health care is under attack, including unprecedented access to abortion,” she added.
More than 100 compulsory abortion laws were passed in the United States in 2021, and since the beginning of 2022, according to Planned Parenthood, more than 300 have been introduced in 41 American states.
The Supreme Court decision also disturbs the legal framework that has been in place for almost 50 years.
In December, while reviewing the Mississippi Act, which reduced the legal deadline for abortion to fifteen weeks, some judges actually ruled that Roy v. Wade ”guarantees the right of women to have an abortion in the first two trimesters of pregnancy.
MMe Scott, whose wealth is valued at $ 49.3 billion, according to the magazine ForbesVowed to donate at least half of his wealth to charity.
Photo by Ivan Agostini, Ivan Agostini Archives / Invision / AP
American philanthropist Mackenzie Scott
It has already made donations to hundreds of communities (food banks, financial and credit services to the underprivileged, legal groups fighting against discrimination, poor households) active in various fields.
Habitat for Humanity, an NGO building houses for the poor, announced on Tuesday that it had donated $ 436 million.
Wednesday, m.Me Scott listed in a blog post a list of 465 companies that have donated a total of $ 3.86 billion since June, without elaborating.
“Our goal is to support the needs of people who are under-represented in all types of groups,” she explained.
Much of her wealth came from the financial collapse of her divorce from Jeff Bezos, which was finalized in July 2019.
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