The all-day event, aimed at aiding independent abortion providers, will take place on Instagram on April 30.
Elizabeth Banks, W. Kamau Bell, Nikki Glaser, Jenny Slate, Sandra Bernhard and Margaret Cho are among the stars set to take part in an all-day fundraiser for independent abortion providers that will be hosted by Lizz Winstead, co-creator of The Daily Show and founder of Abortion Access Front.
Operation Save Abortion is described as "an urgent fundraiser to help independent abortion providers keep their doors open." One hundred percent of the proceeds from Operation Save Abortion go directly to keepourclinics.org, a clinic relief fund set up by Abortion Care Network, the national association for independent abortion care providers. The money will help providers pay for "increased costs related to the pandemic such as payroll for staff, purchasing needed supplies, telemedicine technology costs and paying rent."
"This is important now because anti-abortion politicians are using COVID as a way to halt abortion access," Winstead told The Hollywood Reporter. "This country has already profoundly stripped away access to abortion care. To think that they would use a pandemic as an excuse to cut off health care to people in a time where so many people are food, housing and job insecure because they see an opening to achieve their political goals is unconscionable."
According to organizers, three out of five patients who get abortions do so at independent clinics. During the coronavirus pandemic, "the average independent clinic will need $50,000 per month or else their doors may close permanently."
Said Winstead: "As someone who has had abortions, I know that they allowed me to create a life for myself that allowed me to survive and thrive. Thank God for those who provide this care; it saves lives, and I will not sit back and let those who provide abortions and those who need them be alone in this fight. They need all our support. And to those of you compelled to weigh in on the health-care decisions of strangers, literally — no one asked you."
Winstead will be assisted by Shout Your Abortion co-founder Amelia Bonow for the all-day event, taking place April 30 on Instagram.
"Instagram is where people publicly share intimate feelings and a more personal side of who they are, and we thought it the perfect platform to bring conversations and raise awareness about a very personal topic," Winstead said.
The fundraiser is being produced by the nonprofit organizations Abortion Access Front, Shout Your Abortion and Abortion Care Network and will be hosted by Winstead, assisted by Shout Your Abortion co-founder Amelia Bonow. The entire event will be streamed live from the Abortion Access Front Instagram account (@AbortionFront) from 10 a.m.-10 p.m. ET on April 30.
Other stars taking part "from the confines of their quarantine" include Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls, Kristin Hersh, Alysia Reiner (Orange Is the New Black, Better Things), Donna Lynne Champlin (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Ambrosia Parsley, Beth Stelling (Stand Up), Dana Gould, Josh Gondelman, Samantha Irby, Shannon Woodward, Greg Proops (Whose Line Is It Anyway?), Jessica Kirson (Stand Up), Krystyna Hutchinson (co-host of the Guys We F’cked pod), Lea DeLaria (Orange Is the New Black), Lori Alan (SpongeBob SquarePants, Family Guy), Lindy West and DJ Samantha Ronson.
The event will feature performances, interviews and an auction including handmade crafts and experiences.
Abortion Access Front is a team of comedians, writers and producers "who use humor to destigmatize abortion and expose the extremist anti-choice forces working to destroy access to reproductive rights in all 50 states."
Shout Your Abortion is a "movement working to normalize abortion through art, media and community events all over the country."
