MacKenzie Scott donates a record $275 million to Planned Parenthood

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A view outside the Planned Parenthood in Columbus, Ohio, U.S., November 12, 2021 as the state considers restrictive abortion laws. REUTERS/Gaelen Morse/File Photo

March 23 (Reuters) - Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott donated $275 million to women's healthcare provider Planned Parenthood, the largest gift from a single donor in the organization's more than 100-year history, Planned Parenthood said on Wednesday.

The donation, which is part of Scott's pledge to give away the majority of her wealth, was made to Planned Parenthood's national office and 21 regional affiliates.

Scott, who is now married to Dan Jewett, a Seattle science teacher, received a 4% stake in Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) as part of her divorce from Amazon founder and billionaire Jeff Bezos.

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Planned Parenthood, which provides abortions and other healthcare services at its clinics around the country, is at the forefront of the political battle over abortion rights playing out in U.S. state legislatures and courts.

Abortion access in the United States is on the decline as Republican-led states pass ever tighter restrictions on the procedure, including a near-total ban on abortions in Texas that has withstood legal challenges.

The conservative-leaning U.S. Supreme Court seems likely to overhaul constitutional protections for abortion this spring.

The court has signaled its willingness to reinstate a ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy in Mississippi. That would contradict the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case that established the right to have an abortion before the fetus is viable, which is around 24 weeks.

"We are incredibly grateful for Ms. Scott’s extraordinary philanthropic investment in Planned Parenthood, as a critical part of the public health infrastructure," Planned Parenthood Chief Executive Alexis McGill Johnson said in a statement.

"This funding will support our efforts to advance health equity by eliminating racial and structural barriers for our patients in the communities where Planned Parenthood works."

In a Medium post on Wednesday, Scott said she had donated more than $3.8 billion to 465 non-profit organizations, including Planned Parenthood, since last June.

"Our team’s focus over these last nine months has included some new areas, but as always our aim has been to support the needs of underrepresented people from groups of all kinds. The cause of equity has no sides," she wrote.

On Tuesday, Habitat for Humanity announced that Scott had donated $436 million, which will go toward the organization's efforts to boost affordable housing and Black homeownership. read more

Scott was worth about $49 billion as of Wednesday, according to Forbes.

Reporting by Gabriella Borter Editing by Bill Berkrot

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Good_old_Marshmallow on March 23rd, 2022 at 20:36 UTC »

One thing the non profit sector is pretty amazed by her by is the fact she hasn’t set up her own private foundation like Gates and is just giving out large sums to charities she likes.

A private foundation would give her a lot more control, influence, prestige, and middlemen to advise her. It can make charitable giving more effective but also slower and has a lot of shady “philanthropic” influence like the way Gates pressured Oxford to keep the IP on vaccines private preventing a generic Covid vaccine potentially costing countless lives in the third world.

MacKenzie gives so much quickly because she is essentially just firing off a check

raincntry on March 23rd, 2022 at 19:52 UTC »

JFC that's 3/4 of a billion dollars today!

I don't care that she's still a billionaire. She's doing great work and giving much needed money to underfunded groups. I can't imagine how much relief Planned Parenthood and Habitat for Humanity have knowing they're receiving these donations.

Her ex spends his billions trying to leave this world. She spends hers trying to make it a better world.

Dendad6972 on March 23rd, 2022 at 18:06 UTC »

She's on a roll today. $456 million to Habitat for Humanity.