Author Judy Blume has never been one to shy away from a topic or opinion due to pressure from the religious right, so when the hate mail and alleged death threats came rolling in after she wrote a letter urging people to donate to Planned Parenthood last week, we are sure she thought it was just water under the bridge.
In honor of Mother’s Day, Planned Parenthood brought out some celebrity supporters, including Blume, to drum up donations. Though most of the time, Planned Parenthood is providing gynecological care, birth control and STD screenings to those who are uninsured or need discounted services, the right wingers were quick to shout from their glass houses about Blume supporting “the nation’s largest abortion business.”
“I’m a mom, and I’m also a writer and an activist,” Blume wrote to Planned Parenthood email subscribers. “Nothing has made me prouder than seeing my own children — and really, all young people — grow up to be healthy, educated, and in charge of their bodies and their lives. That’s where Planned Parenthood comes in. There is no organization that I know of that supports motherhood and all that it means more than Planned Parenthood.”
The next day, after an anti-choice website picked up the letter, Blume was reportedly bombarded with hate mail and death threats. (That’s right, death threats from a “pro-life” crowd.)
Over the years, Blume has butted heads with the holier-than-thou crowd more than a few times. Her books for children and young adults discussed teen sexuality, masturbation and body image in a frank and funny way that I’m sure many of us appreciated when we were younger — I certainly did. Her books were censored and banned in some cases — because we all know it’s better for kids to be surprised by their sexuality rather than be educated about it.
While making someone fear for their own life doesn’t seem like the most “Christian thing to do,” the anti-choice crowd didn’t stop with Blume. Another celebrity Planned Parenthood supporter, out actress Cynthia Nixon, was next in line.
On Friday, Nixon sent a similar letter on behalf of Planned Parenthood, which put her in front of the firing squad. She lauded the health center for “providing the reproductive health care, education, and advocacy that help women everywhere to be healthy and to thrive.” She was taken to task by the same websites and said to be promoting poor health for women.
No matter what side you may be on, is threatening someone’s life really accomplishing anything? I mean, aside from making you look like a total hypocrite.
