Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards is accusing Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump of offering what she says felt like a “bribe,” in return for the women’s health organization to stop performing abortions.
PEOPLE magazine reports Richards was leery but felt she owed it to her organization’s patients to meet with the couple, which she did in January of 2017. In her new book she says, “Kushner told her Planned Parenthood ‘had made a big mistake by becoming ‘political.’ ” ”
“The main issue, he explained, was abortion,” Richards writes. “If Planned Parenthood wanted to keep our federal funding, we would have to stop providing abortions. He described his ideal outcome: a national headline reading ‘Planned Parenthood Discontinues Abortion Services.’”
Kushner said that if Richards agreed to the plan then funding could increase, but he urged them to “move fast.”
Richards says in her book, Make Trouble, “If it wasn’t crystal clear before, it was now. Jared and Ivanka were there for one reason: to deliver a political win,” she wrote.
“In their eyes, if they could stop Planned Parenthood from providing abortions, it would confirm their reputation as savvy dealmakers. It was surreal, essentially being asked to barter away women’s rights for more money.”
Image by The White House via Flickr