Mackenzie Scott donates another $17 million to Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Mackenzie Scott, the philanthropic billionaire and former wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, announced today that she is donating $17 million to Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin.

The large donation comes just one day after Scott donated $5 million to Milwaukee's Habitat for Humanity. 

The gifts are part of her "giving pledge" to donate much of her wealth to charity. 

"When we got the phone call I immediately thought about our supporters and I include our patients in that," said Tanya Atkinson, Planned Parenthoods CEO and president. 

Atkinson calls the donation a transformative gift. $17 million is half of the nonprofit's current budget. 

"It's really touching to think about and to be in this place of gratitude for the whole universe of people that wraps itself around Planned Parenthood in support of the services that are provided and needed by so many," she said. 

The donation supports all of Planned Parenthood's services from annual exams to abortions. Atkinson said the support comes at a time when Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin is facing a threat to abortion access that could impact 1.3 million women.

Within the next three months, Wisconsin's Legislature could vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, which protects women's liberty to choose to have an abortion. 

"This gift is not about Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin," said Atkinson. "This gift is about the care that we do provide, that we continue to provide."