Planned Parenthood Deletes Tweet Calling for Disney Princess Who Had Abortion

A Planned Parenthood branch in Pennsylvania called for Disney to create a princess 'who's had an [...]

By Kelsey Patterson

A Planned Parenthood branch in Pennsylvania called for Disney to create a princess "who's had an abortion" in a now-deleted tweet posted Tuesday.

Planned Parenthood Keystone, a branch of the health service provider in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania, tweeted, "We need a disney princess who's had an abortion / We need a disney princess who's pro-choice / We need a disney princess who's an undocumented immigrant / We need a disney princess who's actually a union worker / We need a disney princess who's trans."

The tweet's format spun from a recently popular Twitter meme that imagines animated princesses with atypical traits, whether serious and not.

Planned Parenthood's national office confirmed the tweet and its deletion.

"Today, we joined an ongoing Twitter conversation about the kinds of princesses people want to see in an attempt to make a point about the importance of telling stories that challenge stigma and championing stories that too often don't get told," said Melissa Reed, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Keystone.

"Upon reflection, we decided that the seriousness of the point we were trying to make was not appropriate for the subject matter or context, and we removed the tweet," she continued.

The "we need a Disney princess…" meme had been spreading for several months on Twitter before the controversial Planned Parenthood tweet was crafted.

The meme format was created last year with an earnest call for the Walt Disney Co. to diversify its princesses beyond the light-skinned, thin, often helpless heroines it has created.

"We need a fat Disney princess," one follower charged. Another wrote, "We need a diabetic Disney princess."

Eventually, the movement had become more of a comedic outlet than a rally for change.

"We need a Disney princess with spatulas for hands," a witty user joked.

But Planned Parenthood's take on the tweet garnered a slew of feedback online from users who replied to the now-deleted post. Some took screenshots of the tweet before its deletion, while others offered varying opinions on the controversial message.

"Disney princesses are for CHILDREN and these are adult issues," one Twitter user wrote, adding, "This far-out crap is why we got stuck with Donald Trump."

"Exactly," a follower replied. "They have no idea how extreme this sounds (and yes, I'm pro-choice)."

The president of the antiabortion group Live Action tweeted that the "call to promote abortions to impressionable little girls who admire Disney princesses is despicable."

The Planned Parenthood Keystone account had about 950 followers ahead of its controversial tweet on Tuesday. In its more than 4,000 posts, the branch often shares meme-style messages to forward its message.

Following continued criticism, Reed returned to defend her branch's efforts to mix its social and political views with meme culture — even if it missed the mark in this particular instance.

"Planned Parenthood believes that pop culture — television shows, music, movies — has a critical role to play in educating the public and sparking meaningful conversations around sexual and reproductive health issues and policies, including abortion," she said. "We also know that emotionally authentic portrayals of these experiences are still extremely rare — and that's part of a much bigger lack of honest depictions of certain people's lives and communities."

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