Orange is the New Black Stars Natasha Lyonne and Selenis Leyva Design Planned Parenthood Action Fund T-Shirt
For Immediate Release: Oct. 16, 2014
Part of Celebrity Series to Encourage Young Women to Vote; Previous Designs
by Scarlett Johansson and Gabrielle Union
WASHINGTON, DC -- Today, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund released a limited-edition T-shirt designed by Orange is the New Black stars Natasha Lyonne and Selenis Leyva. The T-shirt is one of a three-part series of celebrity-designed T-shirts the Action Fund has released to highlight what’s at stake for young women in November’s election. It is part of the Women are Watching political campaign to ensure women get out and vote in support of the candidates that will stand up and fight for them. The series also includes shirts designed by Scarlett Johansson and Gabrielle Union.
You can view or order the T-shirt here: http://marketplace.plannedparenthood.org/actionboutique/women-are-watching
The front of the shirt reads: “I am one of the 99% of women who have used birth control.”
The back reads: “It’s my business. Not politicians’.”
This is the first time the Orange is the New Black stars have worked with Planned Parenthood Action Fund, with the recent attacks on birth control and women’s health encouraging Lyonne and Leyva to get involved with the Action Fund’s campaign.
“Politics aside — birth control is basic health care. Anyone who says differently is deeply out of touch. That’s why I’m proud to partner with Planned Parenthood Action Fund to make sure people get out and vote and send a message to politicians that you can’t win the support of women if you’ve spent your entire career attacking our access to basic health care. This is about respect and equality. And if politicians don’t trust women to make our own health care decisions, then we can’t trust those politicians to fight for us,” said Natasha Lyonne.
“It’s hard to believe that there are still politicians trying to take away our access to birth control. This is not a controversial issue for women and it should be a rallying call for young women to get out the vote on November 4th in support of candidates that will stand up and fight for them. We need to make our voices heard and send a message loud and clear that we refuse to let politicians take us back,” said Selenis Leyva.
The outcome of this election could determine control of the U.S. Senate and the makeup of other key offices across the country. Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s message to voters is simple: every vote counts. You can’t complain about the state of things if you don’t get out and vote — like the fact that women still make on average 78 cents to every dollar that a man makes. Or the fact that more than half of all American women ages 18 to 34 report having struggled with the cost of birth control. Or the fact that more than half of American women of reproductive age now live in states where access to abortion is being restricted by their state legislatures.
- When it comes to registration rates for midterm elections, youth rates have dropped from 56 percent in 2002 to 49 percent in the 2010 midterm.
- When it comes to actual voter turnout among young registered voters, almost four out of fiveregistered youth voted in the 2012 presidential election, but less than half voted in the previous midterm election.
- In the 2012 presidential election at least 80 electoral votes depended on the youth vote and in 2008 the youth vote made the difference in at least 3 key states.
Learn more about the Women are Watching campaign here: http://womenarewatching.org