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Planned Parenthood Praises Shonda Rhimes' Scandal Abortion Story

"We hope those in Congress are taking note," they said.

Scandal's winter finale left many Gladiators with their jaws on the floor, mainly because of Shonda Rhimes' decision to have Olivia Pope go through with an abortion. While several organizations and fans are bashing the approach, Planned Parenthood is backing Rhimes, saying that she used her platform to spread awareness on something that needs to be seen.

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According to the Hollywood Reporter, The Planned Parenthood Action Fund released a statemet praising Rhimes, who actually sits on the board of directors at Planned Parenthood Los Angeles. "Tonight, the millions of people who tune into Scandal every Thursday night learned that our rights to reproductive health care is under attack," said Cecile Richards of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. "Never one to shy away from critical issues, Shonda Rhimes used her platform to tell the world that if Planned Parenthood lost funding for contraception conseling, STI testing, cancer screenings and safe, legal abortion — millions of people would suffer."

Continuing to praise the #TGIT queen, the statement continued, "We applaud Shonda Rhimes tonight‚ and every Thursday night — for proving that when women are telling our stories, the world will pause and watch. We just hope those in Congress — and throughout the nation — who are steadfast on rolling the clock back on reproductive health care access are taking note."

The hot topic of abortions holds a special place in Rhimes' heart as in an interview with Time back in January 2014, she said that the topic should not be ignored on the small screen. "Because it is such a hot-button issue, because people are debating it, it should be discussed," she said. "And I'm not sure why it's not being discussed."

It looks like she's taken matters into her own hands to push the dialogue even further.

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Check out how Shonda Rhimes is changing the small screen in the video below:

(Photo: Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Elle/Hearts On Fire)

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