Seattle Storm Women's Basketball Steps Up For Planned Parenthood In New Relationship
/ Anne Enke
Sue Bird and the Seattle Storm will host the Chicago Sky in a W.N.B.A. game on July 18 that will raise money to help support a Planned Parenthood chapter. CreditDean Rutz/The Seattle Times, via Associated Press
It's imperative that Planned Parenthood seek funding partnerships beyond the federal government, with the relentless onslaught of Republicans determined to end access to contraception, core testing and counseling for a wide variety of healthcare necessities, and -- yes -- abortion among poor women, college students and a growing number of middle class women.
Note that any Republican healthcare plan will double or triple the scope of the problem among women requiring Planned Parenthood healthcare facilities.
Professional sports teams have worked with businesses and organizations for decades. And the WNBA's Seattle Storm women's basketball team announced on Thursday that they were prepared to rewrite the template, declaring a new partnership with Planned Parenthood.
Team co-owner Dawn Trudeau explained that she has been frustrated by her inability to "make a meaningful impact on the national healthcare debate."
“Obviously, we are progressives, so throughout this year we’ve had conversations about what was going on in the country, and what we might as individuals might do about it,” Trudeau said in a phone interview with the New York Times, regarding conversations she had with her partners.
The ownership group of the Storm, Force 10, is planning a “Stand With Planned Parenthood” rally on July 18 in KeyArena’s West Plaza, along with continuing efforts to aid fund-raising for Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands. Five dollars from the sale of each ticket for the game that day between the Storm and the Chicago Sky will be donated to the chapter. The Storm, one of the few professional teams owned by women, will also host a fund-raising auction.
There will be blowback, of course, but Seattle is a progressive city and even 50% of Trump voters polled and interviewed after the inauguration said that they did not want Planned Parenthood to be defunded.
