At Olivia Rodrigo's Guts World Tour stop in St. Louis on March 12, the 21-year-old pop star invited local advocacy groups to hand out free condoms and emergency contraceptive pills in a state where abortion has been almost completely banned since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
When Rodrigo kicked off her tour in February, she also launched Fund 4 Good, an initiative "committed to building an equitable and just future for all women, girls, and people seeking reproductive health freedom" that channels a portion of the ticket proceeds from all North American dates to the National Network of Abortion Funds and partners with local NNAF chapters to distribute information and resources at shows.
"It's brutal out here in Missouri, but we are here for abortion access and hand out Plan B with @TextRightByYou," the Missouri Abortion Fund tweeted after the concert, sharing a fan's photo of morning-after pills given out at the event.
"It was our decision to bring the emergency contraception, which we always do when we table," Stephanie Kraft Sheley, project director the Missouri-based abortion care and birth control text line Right By You, told NPR. "It wasn't necessarily something [Olivia's team] asked us to do."
"I think it's hard for folks that aren't living in banned states to understand the crisis that this is creating across the maternal and perinatal health landscape, not just around abortion," Sheley continued. "And so it's it's really vital to see this kind of support."
"To buy especially a brand name emergency contraception off the shelves in stores is very expensive, so the fact that we were giving it to folks for free ... they definitely received it very well and were super grateful and excited," she said.
A portion of the proceeds from every North American date on her tour goes to the NNAF.
"It hasn’t been lost on us that there’s been more coverage over Plan B than there has about funding abortion," Robin Frisella, Community Engagement Director at Missouri Abortion Fund, added to Rolling Stone.
"It was great to hear that response and for new people to find out that we exist," she said. "I have Gen Z daughters and so I just absolutely love this generation. They're just curious and want to be empowered. The opportunity to learn more about their own reproductive health care does that."
Rodrigo has been a vocal supporter of reproductive rights over the last several years.
Rodrigo has long been vocal about her support for reproductive rights and women's healthcare. When the Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022, she brought Lily Allen out during her set at Glastonbury to sing "F--- You" in a performance dedicated to the justices who voted in favor of the repeal.
"I'm devastated and terrified. So many women and so many girls are going to die because of this," Rodrigo said onstage at the time. "I wanted to dedicate this next song to the five members of the Supreme Court who have showed us that at the end of the day, they truly don't give a s--t about freedom. This song goes out to the justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, and Brett Kavanaugh. We hate you!"
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