Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Jessica Chastain credits Planned Parenthood for giving her ‘a choice’: ‘ It had a great impact on my life’

Chastain continues to support the organisation

Clémence Michallon
New York City
Friday 21 January 2022 15:33 EST
Comments
Jessica Chastain attends the red carpet of the movie ‘The Eyes Of Tammy Faye’ during the 16th Rome Film Festival on 14 October 2021 in Rome, Italy
Jessica Chastain attends the red carpet of the movie ‘The Eyes Of Tammy Faye’ during the 16th Rome Film Festival on 14 October 2021 in Rome, Italy (Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images for Searchlight Pictures)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Jessica Chastain has credited Planned Parenthood for having “a great impact on [her] life” by enabling her to access birth control when she was younger.

The actor told The Times in a recent interview that she was “the first person in [her] family to not be pregnant when [she] was 17”.

She added of Planned Parenthood: “It had a great impact on my life because it gave me choice.”

The newspaper noted that Chastain went to Planned Parenthood as a young woman for birth control pills, and continues to support the organisation now.

Established in 1916 in New York, Planned Parenthood is a nonprofit organisation that provides sexual and reproductive healthcare services and education.

Chastain, who has two children with her husband Gian Luca Passi de Preposulo, highlighted the importance of fathers in the same interview.

“Right now, as a society, I don’t believe we value fathers as much as we should,” she said. “I think we have to understand that — and this is tough as a woman to say this — the father relationship is just as important as the mother relationship.

“And men need to acknowledge that women are just as important in the workforce. And so, once we get more balance in both the workforce and in terms of raising children, I think that’s how we create healthier and happier human beings.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in