Author “Lemony Snicket” and Wife, Illustrator Lisa Brown, Donate One Million Dollars to Planned Parenthood

image via (cc) flickr user wenews

As the debate around federal funding for Planned Parenthood intensifies, author Daniel Handler and his wife, illustrator Lisa Brown, have stepped up to support the embattled women’s health care provider, publicly pledging one million dollars of their own money for the organization.

Handler, known for his Series of Unfortunate Events books, all written under his nom de plume “Lemony Snicket,” announced the news of the donation early this week, writing:

via twitter / @danielhandler

image via (cc) flickr user ronhogan

Handler and Brown’s donation comes amidst pressure from some conservatives to remove all federal funding from Planned Parenthood, which provides mammograms, cancer screenings, and health consultations, as well as abortions, for patients, many of whom are low-income women . Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards took to Capital Hill this week for a four hour–oftentimes contentious–hearing of the House Oversight Committee. There, she was grilled by house Republicans over her organization’s budget, of which $450 million is federally funded, largely in the form of Medicaid reimbursements. While none of the government-provided money is used to facilitate abortion procedures (it’s largely illegal) members of the GOP have ratcheted up threats to de-fund the group, regardless.

In response to this increasingly hostile rhetoric, proponents of Planned Parenthood, like Handler and Brown, have rallied to the groups defense, sharing messages of support. Among those lending their voices to the cause have been GIRLS creator Lena Dunham, Scandal star Kerry Washington, and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.