The Quickie: PP Action Fund Collabs With Leading Fashion Designers

Welcome to “The Quickie” — Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s daily tipsheet on the top health care & reproductive rights stories of the day. You can read “The Quickie'' online here.

In today’s Quickie: PP Action Fund collabs with designers, abortion bans are deadly, and PP Votes spotlight.

PP ACTION FUND COLLABS WITH LEADING FASHION DESIGNERS: Today, Planned Parenthood Action Fund announced an exclusive design collaboration with a diverse group of leading fashion designers on a range of t-shirts to highlight the importance of abortion rights as an issue ahead of the election in November.

The designers include Carly Cushnie, Diane von Furstenberg, Fernando Garcia, Fe Noel, Kenneth Cole, Kim Shui, Peshawn Bread, Prabal Gurung, and Willie Norris. Each designer created and contributed a design exclusively for Planned Parenthood Action Fund, in support of sexual and reproductive health and rights.

In speaking about the collaboration, Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Action Fund shares how people can get involved on top of voting saying, “Have conversations with friends, family members and folks in your communities about the urgency of this upcoming election.”

Caren Spruch, national director for arts and entertainment of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, told Vogue about the significance of each design saying, “Each shirt is a stunning walking billboard that allows individuals to proudly communicate their identities and beliefs and to encourage others to vote in this critical election.” She adds. “Fashion is a powerful statement. And now is the time to use it to champion reproductive freedom.”

Read more about PPAF’s collaboration here and coverage in Vogue here. The t-shirts are available on Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s marketplace. 

ABORTION BANS ARE DEADLY:  Amid recent reports on the preventable deaths of Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller due to Georgia’s abortion ban is another devastating story of loss due to a lack of timely care.

The IndyStar reported on the unfortunate death of 26-year-old Taysha Wilkinson-Sobieski — a pregnant patient whose death would have likely been avoided if not for the far-reaching impacts of Indiana’s abortion ban. Indiana, like states with abortion bans across the country, has struggled to recruit and retain qualified OB-GYN providers, forcing hospitals to close maternity wards. As a result, Taysha Wilkinson-Sobieski died from pregnancy-related complications because the hospital closest to her was forced to close its labor and delivery ward just weeks prior. 

In the days before and after the closing of the maternity center, the community had strongly opposed the closure of the unit, fearing that pregnant women would be left with no care. This death is a direct consequence of Indiana’s cruel abortion ban and the fear providers in ban states are forced to live with as they try to provide care.  

Rebecca Gibron, CEO of Planned Parenthood in Indiana, issued the following statement regarding Taysha Wilkinson-Sobieski’s death: 

“Taysha’s death lays bare the brutal truth about abortion bans and Indiana’s continuing attacks on health care providers. Bans and restriction laws are passed with utter disregard for the health and lives of mothers and families. … Taysha’s death — and the deaths that will tragically follow — are at the hands of extremists who are hell-bent on stripping away our care and criminalizing health care providers.” 

DONALD TRUMP THREATENED WOMEN WITH HIS PROTECTION: As October approaches, Donald Trump kicked off the spooky scary vibes and basically threatened women by saying “I am your protector” during a rally in Pennsylvania last night. Jumpscare! There’s nothing more horrifying than the person responsible for overturning Roe declaring, “Women will be happy, healthy, confident and free” under his leadership. Making the audacious claim that women were healthier four years ago is also nothing short of ironic. After all, four years ago, we still had federal protections that kept states from banning abortion entirely and putting lives at risk. Now, 22 states have banned all or some abortions, impacting more than 28 million women — plus more trans and nonbinary folks — across the country. 

During his rant, Trump also said that Americans who criticized the Supreme Court for their reversal of Roe should be imprisoned and praised himself for appointing three of the six justices who took away our rights. Regardless of what Trump says, support for federal abortion protections has only increased and women under 45 say reproductive health care is a top issue this election season. Fear not, Planned Parenthood Votes is here to challenge every one of Trump’s reproductive health claims and ensure his anti-abortion position costs him on Election Day.