Shonda Rhimes Joins Planned Parenthood’s National Board
Shonda Rhimes has added another job to her many titles — national board member of Planned Parenthood.
The woman behind “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal” and “How to Get Away With Murder” has signed on to represent Planned Parenthood on a nationwide level, Elle reported Thursday.
While Rhimes has long worked with her local Planned Parenthood affiliate in Los Angeles, she told Elle that Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards approached her about expanding her participation.
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“When someone you really admire … calls on you to serve, you say yes,” Rhimes said.
“The fact is that women’s health is under fire right now,” the Shondaland boss added. “And so to me, it feels like it’s important to help fight back.”
Richards told Elle that she reached out to Rhimes largely because of “her commitment to lift up the stories of people who don’t always get heard, whether it’s in the way she talks about LGBT issues or women’s reproductive health care or [the way she] centers people of color on television.”
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Rhimes noted that she’s “never personally had to use a Planned Parenthood,” but has had “many friends who have and do and did, and I think it’s important that that access be there for everyone.”
The showrunner noted that she hasn’t “totally defined what I want to do” in her new role, but said that in general, “I want to be of service — in any way that I can. And if that is helping to convey messages, that is what I’m going to do. If it’s rolling up my sleeves and getting to work, that is what I’m going to do. I think it’s important for women to have a means to get health care.”
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