Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards claims in a new book Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner made an offer to her that felt like a “bribe” during a meeting before President Trump’s inauguration.
In the book, “Make Trouble: Standing Up, Speaking Out, and Finding the Courage to Lead,” Richards writes a “friendly acquaintance in the fashion industry” urged her to contact Trump, President Trump’s daughter and now an assistant to the president.
During the meeting, which Richards attended with her husband, Kirk Adams, Trump, and Kushner, the president’s son-in-law told her Planned Parenthood “had made a big mistake by becoming ‘political,’” according to People magazine.
“The main issue, he explained, was abortion,” Richards says in her book. “If Planned Parenthood wanted to keep our federal funding, we would have to stop providing abortions. He described his ideal outcome: a national headline reading ‘Planned Parenthood Discontinues Abortion Services.’”
Richards claims Kushner told her Planned Parenthood could see a boost in funding if she agreed to his proposal.
“If it wasn’t crystal clear before, it was now. Jared and Ivanka were there for one reason: to deliver a political win,” Richards writes. “In their eyes, if they could stop Planned Parenthood from providing abortions, it would confirm their reputation as savvy dealmakers. It was surreal, essentially being asked to barter away women’s rights for more money. It takes a lot to get Kirk mad, but it looked like his head was about to explode.”
Richards also recalled telling Planned Parenthood Executive Vice President Dawn Laguens the proposal “felt almost like a bribe,” according to People.
Planned Parenthood said in April 2017 Richards and Trump met in January 2017 and described the meeting as “cordial and informative.”
“The purpose of the meeting, from Planned Parenthood’s perspective, was to make sure that Ivanka Trump fully understood the important role Planned Parenthood plays in providing health care to millions of people and why it would be a disastrous idea to block people from accessing care at Planned Parenthood,” the organization said in a statement at the time.
According to People, Richards wrote she decided to meet with Trump and Kushner because “even if there was only a sliver of a chance of changing anyone’s mind, I owed it to Planned Parenthood patients to at least take the meeting.”
Richards is planning to step down as president of Planned Parenthood this year. She supported Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.
