--- title: Scarlett Johansson Speaks Out on Women's Rights description: Scarlett Johansson has praised the work of Planned Parenthood and criticised the politicisation of women's bodies in a powerful speech. canonical: https://time.com/4533497/scarlett-johansson-womens-rights/ author: Suyin Haynes article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-17T20:45:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:03:36.783Z og:title: Scarlett Johansson Gives Powerful Speech on Women's Rights og:description: "Planned Parenthood has always been there for me" og:url: https://time.com/4533497/scarlett-johansson-womens-rights/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd4ed03913403606c/6988aa39524fc040fcdf9e00/gettyimages-614687916.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4928 og:image:height: 2772 og:image:alt: US-ENTERTAINMENT-VARIETY og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Scarlett Johansson Gives Powerful Speech on Women's Rights twitter:description: "Planned Parenthood has always been there for me" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd4ed03913403606c/6988aa39524fc040fcdf9e00/gettyimages-614687916.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Scarlett Johansson Speaks Out on Women's Rights: 'Planned Parenthood Has Always Been There for Me' by [Suyin Haynes](https://time.com/author/suyin-haynes/) ## Suyin Haynes Oct 17, 2016 8:45 PM UTC  Actress Scarlett Johansson attends Variety's 10th Power of Women Luncheon presented by Lifetime Television, Oct. 14, 2016 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, in Beverly Hills, California. Actress Scarlett Johansson attends Variety's 10th Power of Women Luncheon presented by Lifetime Television, Oct. 14, 2016 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, in Beverly Hills, California.ROBYN BECK—AFP/Getty Images by [Suyin Haynes](https://time.com/author/suyin-haynes/) ## Suyin Haynes Oct 17, 2016 8:45 PM UTC Scarlett Johansson praised the work of Planned Parenthood and criticized the politicization of women’s bodies in a powerful speech. Speaking at _Variety_‘s Power of Women Luncheon event on Friday in L.A., the actress defended the right of women to make their own choices about their body whilst accepting an award for her work with [Planned Parenthood](http://time.com/4527330/planned-parenthood-100-history/?iid=sr-link1). Johansson was presented with the award by _Iron Man_ co-star Robert Downey Jr, and joined British actress Helen Mirren, filmmaker Ava DuVernay, transgender actress Laverne Cox and singer Miley Cyrus among the list of honorees at the event. “Planned Parenthood has always been there for me and for the 2.5 million men and women who rely on their services annually,” said the actress, who is a [strong advocate ](http://time.com/4285689/scarlett-johansson-wage-inequality/?iid=sr-link1)of the reproductive health organization’s work. Johansson referred to Planned Parenthood’s services such as early cancer screening that enable “people to be in control of their future and their body”. “A woman’s right to choose what to do with her body shouldn’t just be a woman’s rights issues. It’s the year 2016 and this is a human rights issue. A woman’s right to choose is a deeply personal one and should not be a part of anyone’s political platform,” she said. “It is about honoring and respecting women and upholding the law. It is time that we all stand with Planned Parenthood for our sisters, our mothers, our friends and our daughters.” \[[_Variety_](http://variety.com/2016/scene/vpage/miley-cyrus-scarlett-johansson-laverne-cox-ava-duvernay-helen-mirren-trump-power-of-women-2016-1201888223/)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4533497/scarlett-johansson-womens-rights/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4533497/scarlett-johansson-womens-rights/"},"headline":"Scarlett Johansson Speaks Out on Women's Rights: 'Planned Parenthood Has Always Been There for Me'","datePublished":"2016-10-17T20:45:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:03:36.783Z","description":"Actress urges for conversations about women's health to be taken \"off the ballots and out of the mouths of politicians\"","url":"https://time.com/4533497/scarlett-johansson-womens-rights/","keywords":["motto","Scarlett Johansson","Planned Parenthood"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd4ed03913403606c/6988aa39524fc040fcdf9e00/gettyimages-614687916.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Suyin Haynes","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/suyin-haynes/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd4ed03913403606c/6988aa39524fc040fcdf9e00/gettyimages-614687916.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-ENTERTAINMENT-VARIETY","caption":"US-ENTERTAINMENT-VARIETY","creditText":"ROBYN BECK—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4533497/scarlett-johansson-womens-rights/","name":"Scarlett Johansson Speaks Out on Women's Rights: 'Planned Parenthood Has Always Been There for Me'"}}]}] ```