April 16th, 2012

"I'm raising money so people can see a doctor!"

"I'm going bowling later! I'm raising money so people can see a doctor!" -- Avital Norman Nathman's 5-year old son was excited to bowl with the Abortion Rights Fund of Western Massachusetts in the first big weekend of the 3rd Annual National Abortion Access Bowl-a-Thon.

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Categories: Bowl-a-Thon , Funds, Lilith Fund

March 13th, 2012

What's at stake: speaking out in Virginia

Ramey Noël Connelly, a volunteer with the Richmond Reproductive Freedom Project, spoke last month at the Rally for Reproductive Rights at the Virginia State Capitol about Virginia's notorious ultrasound bill.

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Categories: abortion restrictions, economic justice, Funds, unfair laws

February 7th, 2012

Falling between the cracks

Falling Between the Cracks: Why Abortion Funds Exist and How You Can Help Them Help Women, by Eesha Pandit and Steph Herold, was originally published in RH Reality Check on February 6, 2012

Melissa is 26 years old. She has a husband serving in the U.S. military overseas and a young daughter with numerous special health care needs. When they learned that she was pregnant, Melissa and her husband considered their limited resources and decided to seek an abortion. The ban on federal funding for abortion meant that this basic medical service was not covered. Melissa managed to raise half of the cost of her procedure by delaying payment of non-essential bills. The New York Abortion Access Fund (NYAAF) pledged the other half.

Erika is a 19-year-old college student with an infant. When she became pregnant, her boyfriend had recently been laid off, leaving their family uninsured. She called NYAAF for help when her family refused to offer assistance. She’d saved $100 dollars from her student loan check. NYAAF pledged the remaining $250 and Erika received the abortion care she needed.

Since 2001, the NYAAF has helped 764 women from 25 states, including Melissa and Erika ¹,  gain access to safe abortion care. In fact, the need for abortion funding is so great that over 100 grassroots abortion funds exist across the country, all members of the National Network of Abortion Funds. NYAAF, a member of the Network, is a volunteer-run, non-profit organization that provides financial assistance to low-income women in New York state who can’t afford to pay for an abortion. This year, we’re celebrating a decade of ensuring accessible, funded abortion care in New York State.

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Categories: abortion restrictions, Funds, New York Abortion Access Fund

January 24th, 2012

We can do more to clear barriers to abortion care

Ana Rodriguez, Executive Director of ACCESS Women's Health Justice in California, explains how barriers stand in the way of making the choices guaranteed 39 years ago by Roe v. Wade for the women she hears from every day:

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Categories: economic justice, Funds