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Planned Parenthood Great Plains Reports Post-Election Spike In Support

Elana Gordon
/
KCUR
Planned Parenthood says donations have tripled since the presidential election.

Planned Parenthood Great Plains says it has been flooded with support since the national election in November.

The women's health organization, which serves Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma, says that between Nov. 8 and Dec. 1, it has received three times the amount of donations it receives in a typical month.

Spokeswoman Bonyen Lee-Gilmore says around 200 volunteers have signed up during the same period, compared to around 10 in an average month.

She says supporters have expressed concern about potential threats to abortion access and Planned Parenthood funding from the administration of President-elect Donald Trump.

"Volunteers who are signing up are very direct about the fact that they know that times are about to get tough, and so they want us to know that they are here for us, that they support us and that they are going to do what they can to keep health care open and accessible to every person," Lee-Gilmore says.

Planned Parenthood provides abortions, among other women's and reproductive health services. Abortion-related services account for 3 percent of its services, according to Planned Parenthood's annual reports.

During the presidential campaign, Trump declared himself "pro-life" and said he favored defunding Planned Parenthood.

Lee-Gilmore says 70 percent of the recent donations have been made in the names of Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump or Mike Pence.

The spike in donations mirrors a similar phenomenon at Planned Parenthood affiliates around the country. The Atlantic magazine, citing Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards, reported more than two weeks ago that in the aftermath of the elections, 80,000 donations had poured in. 

As a health care reporter, I aim to empower my audience to take steps to improve health care and make informed decisions as consumers and voters. I tell human stories augmented with research and data to explain how our health care system works and sometimes fails us. Email me at alexs@kcur.org.
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