GOP aids Planned Parenthood with song

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NASHVILLE, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- Nashville songwriter Gretchen Peters says she will donate royalties from her song, "Independence Day," to Planned Parenthood in Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's name.

Peters said on her Web site she decided to donate the song's royalties during the current election cycle after the Republican Party used the song as accompaniment when Palin went on stage following Thursday's vice presidential debate in St. Louis.

"Independence Day," a hit for Martina McBride in 1994, is about a woman dealing with domestic abuse, sung from the point of view of her daughter.

Peters -- whose songs have been recorded by Bryan Adams, George Strait, Shania Twain and Randy Travis -- said it was "beyond irony" that the GOP campaign was using the song "as a rallying cry for (Palin), a woman who would ban abortion even in cases of rape and incest."

"They are co-opting the song, completely overlooking the context and message, and using it to promote a candidate who would set women's rights back decades," Peters said.

She urged fans to donate to Planned Parenthood in Palin's name as well.