The CEO of Planned Parenthood, Cecile Richards, has accused Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner of making an offer of federal funding in exchange for ditching an abortion provision, which she added felt like a bribe.
In her new memoir, Richards detailed a meeting with the pair which took place at the beginning of last year, in which according to her, the two were looking to deliver a “political win” that would mark them out as savvy dealmakers, Newsweek writes.
“If it wasn’t crystal clear before, it was now. Jared and Ivanka were there for one reason: to deliver a political win,” she wrote. “In their eyes, if they could stop Planned Parenthood from providing abortions, it would confirm their reputation as savvy dealmakers.”
The Planned Parenthood CEO further noted that despite feeling reluctant to meet with Trump and Kushner, she decided to do so, asking her husband to come along as a “witness.” During the meeting, Kushner allegedly said Planned Parenthood had made a mistake by becoming too political.
“The main issue, he explained, was abortion. If Planned Parenthood wanted to keep our federal funding, we would have to stop providing abortions. He described his ideal outcome: a national headline reading ‘Planned Parenthood Discontinues Abortion Services’,” Richards said in a passage of the book.
Kushner also suggested that if the group moved fast with the plan, their federal funding might increase, which Richards dismissed as impossible. Later, detailing the meeting in a discussion with Planned Parenthood’s executive vice president Dawn Laguens, Richards commented, “Honestly, it felt almost like a bribe.”
The White House did not respond to request for comment, the media outlet says.
Be the first to comment