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- Britney Spears has been held under a conservatorship she says is abusive for 13 years.
- She asked the court to end the arrangement and also said she's been forced to keep her IUD in.
- The president of Planned Parenthood said a forced IUD would be a violation of Spears' reproductive rights.
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Britney Spears spoke out against her 13-year conservatorship in a court hearing yesterday.
Per the rules of the conservatorship, Spears' estate and financial assets have been under the control of her father and a lawyer since she was believed to be incapable of making her own decisions. Those terms apply to some personal assets too – and Britney's reproductive rights.
In a 24-minute statement to a Los Angeles probate judge, Spears said that she was forced to get an IUD – a form of long-acting birth control – and she is not allowed to get it removed.
"I wanted to take the [IUD] out so I could start trying to have another baby," Spears said in the hearing. "But this so-called team won't let me go to the doctor to take it out because they don't want me to have children – any more children."
Reproductive rights advocates were quick to voice their support for Spears. Planned Parenthood Federation of America president and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson released a statement calling Spears' testimony "incredibly distressing."
"We stand in solidarity with Britney and all women who face reproductive coercion," McGill Johnson wrote. "Your reproductive health is your own - and no one should make decisions about it for you. Every person should have the ability to make their own decisions about their bodies and exercise bodily autonomy."
-Alexis McGill Johnson (@alexismcgill) June 23, 2021
The Women's March also tweeted a statement of support for Spears, writing, "Everyone deserves to be able to make their own choices: for their bodies, for their health, for their lives. We support you, Britney, and all women escaping abusive and controlling situations."