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Fans at Olivia Rodrigo‘s Guts World Tour concert stop on Tuesday in St. Louis., Mo., were given free condoms and morning-after pills as part of an initiative supporting women’s reproductive rights in the state, where abortion has been banned.
To hand out the contraceptives, Rodrigo — who has long advocated for abortion care in the U.S. — paired up with The Missouri Abortion Fund, which provides financial assistance to state residents who cannot afford an abortion.
The condoms and morning-after pills, a form of emergency birth control often used within 72 hours of unprotected sex, were distributed by the abortion fund as part of a package using Rodrigo’s branding. (Morning-after pills are not the same as abortion pills, as they do not terminate an existing pregnancy, but rather delay or prevent ovulation.)
A stacked booth also offered stickers and leaflets advocating for accessible abortions in Missouri. A card included in the package read, “Funding abortion? It’s a good idea, right?” in reference to Rodrigo’s song, bad idea right?
The cards also featured a QR code that brought scanners to a page where they could donate to The Missouri Abortion Fund.
Rodrigo, 21, said a portion of the proceeds from her concert ticket sales will be donated to charities supporting women’s reproductive rights. The St. Louis show specifically saw proceeds donated to the Missouri Abortion Fund and Right By You, a pro-abortion text help line that supported The Missouri Abortion Fund’s booth at the show.
Last month, as her toured kicked off, Rodrigo launched her Fund 4 Good initiative, wordplay on her single Good 4 U. According to the organization’s website, Fund 4 Good is “committed to building an equitable and just future for women and girls through direct support of community based non-profits that champion girls’ education, support reproductive rights and prevent gender-based violence.”
An activist from Right by You told the Guardian the Driver’s License singer invited the non-profits to the venue, though it was their choice to distribute the contraceptives.
Abortion is illegal in Missouri, except in cases where the pregnant person’s life is at risk. The ban came after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe. v. Wade in June 2022. To have an abortion, a Missouri resident must travel out of state.
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Alongside Missouri, 20 other states have also banned or severely restricted abortion access. Fourteen of those states, including Alabama, Arkansas and Idaho, have made abortion illegal.
Distribution of the contraceptives earned Rodrigo praise and scorn from Americans who either favour or oppose access to abortion in the U.S.
One fan called Rodrigo “brave” for distributing the contraceptives.
“To have the new generation of mainstream pop girls be this brave and this willing to be 100% clear about an issue that is SO polarizing. I have tears in my eyes it’s awesome to see,” she wrote on X.
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On the opposite end, Republican Missouri state senator Bill Eigel said he was “horrified” by the news.
“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,” Eigel wrote. “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.”
According to the American Psychological Association, abortion is not linked to mental health issues or suicidal ideation. Rather, “people who are denied abortions have worse physical and mental health, as well as worse economic outcomes,” the association reported.
In the past, Rodrigo has said she is pro-choice. While on stage at Glastonbury Festival in 2022, shortly after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Rodrigo said she was “devastated and terrified” by the decision.
“So many women and so many girls are going to die because of this,” Rodrigo told the crowd.
Rodrigo, while standing with singer Lily Allen, dedicated Allen’s song F—k You to the “five members of the Supreme Court who’ve showed us that at the end of the day they truly don’t give a s—t about freedom.”
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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