Two weeks ago, yet another detrimental action was put into effect against women’s health provider, Planned Parenthood. On March 30th, Vice President (and longtime enemy of women’s and LGBTQ rights), Mike Pence, broke a tie on a measure that would give states the authority to withhold federal funding from Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers, despite the fact that these organizations also provides numerous other vital services including HIV testing, contraceptives, and STD screenings and treatment. If Donald Trump signs the bill it would repeal Barack Obama’s December ruling to protect Title X family planning grants to Planned Parenthood and other similar health care providers.
Support for the besieged organization is as important as ever and this week a group of musicians and other entertainment figures have come together to aid Planned Parenthood. The National’s Matt Berninger and the band’s manager, Brandon Reid, came up with a benefit project following the results of the 2016 election. Mary J Blige, Bjork, St. Vincent, Sleater-Kinney, Feist, Estelle, Chvrches, Bon Iver, Common, John Legend, and Foo Fighters have all signed on to donate mostly-unreleased music for a special edition album box set called Seven Inches for Planned Parenthood with all proceeds going towards the non-profit. The project will also include material from comedians including Sarah Silverman, Janeane Garofalo, Tig Notaro, Aparna Nancherla and Margaret Cho; writers and activists Margaret Atwood, dream hampton, Dr. Willie Parker and Heather McGhee, and visual artists Angela Pilgrim, Shepard Fairey, Mark Fox, Rashid Johnson and William Villalongo.
The team behind Seven Inches states:
Lawmakers with extreme views are working hard to shut down Planned Parenthood. If they succeed, millions of Americans will lose access to basic health services, including STD testing and treatment, birth control, and life-saving cancer screenings.
7-inches for Planned Parenthood is a response to this threat. This curated series of 7-inch vinyl records is being made by a group of people who believe that access to health care is a public good that should be fiercely protected. Do we know there’s a joke in the name? We do. We hope the title evokes the rich history of 7-inch vinyl records as a medium for protest music and resistance.
Planned Parenthood will receive 100% of the proceeds from the sale of this 7-inch box set and streaming listens. We see this initiative as the start of something bigger, and hope it will inspire both contributors and listeners to continue to seek out ways to stand with Planned Parenthood and other institutions that are so vital to us all.
On April 10th, Seven Inches released a promotional video featuring St. Vincent, John Legend, and Zach Galifianakis. Watch the short below and stay tuned for Seven Inches for Planned Parenthood. Digital singles will be released in the upcoming weeks and the full box set will be available for pre-order soon.
