Olivia Rodrigo has reportedly stepped in to halt the distribution of free contraceptives and the morning-after pill at her concerts, days after the US singer was praised for encouraging young people to take responsibility for their sexual health.
According to abortion organisations cited by Variety, Rodrigo’s team became concerned about the messaging and insisted groups no longer pass out lubrication, condoms and the emergency contraceptive pill known as Plan B because “children are present at the concerts”.
The groups will still be allowed to have booths at dates on Rodrigo’s Guts world tour, which continues on Saturday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin – but only to hand out information and materials such as hats, T-shirts, stickers and badges.
Abortions are illegal in Missouri, where Rodrigo performed her St Louis concert on Tuesday, but there is no law prohibiting the distribution of emergency contraception.
In June 2022, the Supreme Court overturned the Roe vs Wade ruling, opening the door for individual US states to ban abortion outright. In the year after the decision, 14 states made abortion illegal.
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Women’s sexual health groups say they are dismayed by the latest decision, which also follows a backlash by conservatives to the handouts that took place in partnership with the Fund 4 Good initiative, which the three-time Grammy winner says she set up to build “an equitable and just future for all women, girls and people seeking reproductive health freedom”.
Destini Spaeth, chair of the Prairie Abortion Fund, which was present at Friday night’s Rodrigo concert in St Paul, Minnesota, told Variety that she strongly disagreed with the removal of contraceptive access. “There is something really positive about a 16- or 15-year-old having a Plan B and a few condoms in her dresser to use as she needs it,” she said.
“Sex and sexual health tools, whether that be abortion, Plan B, condoms, are villainised because you’re [seen as being] promiscuous. We don’t look at it as a sign of responsibility. [But] if the kids aren’t getting the education they need in school, at least they can rely on reproductive health organisations in their communities to get that information and resources to them.”
Rodrigo’s representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Guardian.
News that contraceptives and Plan B were being handed out at concerts in partnership with Fund 4 Good quickly went viral and earned the singer widespread praise, even though the initial call to distribute them came from the abortion-access groups themselves.
Talking to the Guardian this week after a concert in St Louis, Stephanie Kraft Sheley, project director of Right by You, said: “She invited us, but it was our decision to bring it and hand it out. It fills my heart with so much joy and gratitude to Olivia, and it shows how well received it will be when other artists step up and do this. I hope they follow this example.”
There was also criticism of the 21-year-old artist. “Curious how the Disney Channel churns out so many high priestesses of child sacrifice,” a tweet by the right-wing television channel Breitbart News said, referring to Rodrigo’s career beginnings.
Others accused Rodrigo of operating “abortion dispensaries” at concerts and being a “satanic [abortion] industry plant”.
But Jade Hurley, communications manager for the DC Abortion Fund, told Variety the right-wing backlash is based on false information. “It’s disappointing that extremists are causing a moral panic over something they don’t even understand,” she said.
“They don’t know the difference between emergency contraception and the abortion pill, which are two completely different things.”
The order to stop distribution of emergency contraception came directly from Rodrigo’s team, Jezebel reported, following media coverage, and because they feared children could too easily access the products.
Robin Frisella, community engagement director of abortion access group the Missouri Abortion Fund, told Variety in a statement before Friday night’s concert that it would honour the request.
“While we are disappointed to learn that other abortion funds will not get the same opportunity, we are encouraged by the overwhelmingly positive response,” the statement said. “We can’t speak to why this decision was made, but we hope this conversation highlights the work being done by abortion funds across the country.” – Guardian service