Pop star Olivia Rodrigo made headlines for distributing morning-after pills and contraceptives, at her “Guts” tour concert in St. Louis, Missouri, on Tuesday. Rodrigo partnered with a local abortion organization to hand out two packages of Julie, a morning-after pill, to each fan at the Enterprise Center. Rodrigo also gives a portion of ticket proceeds to pro-choice groups.
Fans took to social media, causing the Plan B pill offerings to go viral.
But, not everyone was excited that youngsters were being given Plan B pills. On Wednesday, Republican Missouri state Senator Bill Eigel, who is running for governor, took to X (formerly Twitter) to express that he was “horrified,” while sharing the facts about abortions’ many after-effects. He wrote,
As the father of a daughter, I am horrified by this. Olivia Rodrigo passed out an abortifacient at her concert in St. Louis last night. This was sponsored by the “Missouri Abortion Fund.” Many of her fans are CHILDREN.
Abortion hurts women. Physical damage of course, but also psychological. Women who have had abortions have higher rates of anxiety, mental health problems, substance abuse, and suicide. Olivia Rodrigo is actively harming women in Missouri by championing abortion. She should be ashamed.
Thursday, an announcement came telling the local pro-abortion organizations that they will no longer be distributing morning-after pills or condoms to concert-goers.
Three sources from the organizations revealed that the decision originated from Rodrigo’s team and was communicated through Slack by the National Network of Abortion Funds (NNAF), which collaborated with the pop star to establish booths at every stop of her North American tour. The explanation provided was that the items could be easily accessed by young girls in the audience.
Jade Hurley, the communications manager for the DC Abortion Fund, stated that the NNAF said that Rodrigo’s team’s directive to cease the distribution of lubrication, condoms, and morning-after pills was due to the presence of children at the concerts.
An anonymous worker from an abortion group said the singer’s management cited concerns about these items being displayed and distributed at shows attended by children along with the media coverage of the viral online photo.
Pro-abortion organization Right by You founder, Stephanie Kraft Sheley explained the group’s interactions with children at the concerts, saying:
It was very normal to see a younger child walk up with curiosity with their parent and have the parent explain to them what’s on the table and why we’re here. … We’re not having children walk up and grab things off the table that aren’t for children.
Meanwhile, Hurley blamed “extremists” as being responsible for the decision while admitting that children are a target group for “access,” saying,
Extremists are purposefully conflating the two [morning-after pill and abortion pill] to restrict access and shame minors out of getting the resources they needs. … Their agenda is just control and power over autonomy, and they always go after young people first.
Warning: coarse language
Rodrigo has been outspoken about her pro-abortion ideology in the past. In 2022 during her set at the Glastonbury music festival, she named U.S. Supreme Court Justices while dedicating a song called “F*** You,” telling the audience,
I wanted to dedicate this next song to the five members of the Supreme Court who have showed us that at the end of the day, they truly don’t give a s*** about freedom. The song is for the justices: Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh. We hate you! We hate you!
The abortion advocate groups associated with the concert tour took responsibility, saying that it was their decision, not Rodrigo’s, to hand out the Plan B pills at her concerts.
Robin Frisella, community engagement director of the Missouri Abortion Fund said,
Missouri Abortion Fund and Right by You were invited to table at Olivia Rodrigo’s event in St. Louis, but it was our decision to pass out EC [emergency contraceptives].
Members of the NNAF said they will, instead, give away beanies, stickers, and buttons at future tour dates.
