Justice

How You Can Help Protect Women's Reproductive Rights

November 16th 2016

Following the election of Donald Trump to the presidency, women have expressed fear over a possible attack on their reproductive rights.

A quick refresher on why this might be: In the past, President-elect Donald Trump said that if abortion were illegal, women who get abortions should be punished (later clarifying he meant doctors and individuals performing abortions), vowed to nominate anti-abortion justices to the Supreme Court, and picked Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his Vice President — a man who waged a crusade to defund Planned Parenthood.

Most recently on "60 Minutes," Trump discussed the possible overturning of Roe v. Wade and the legality of abortion being decided by the states, saying this: "Well, perhaps they'll have to go to another state."

This remark reveals the immense financial burden women could face if they need to travel to another state for an abortion. While efforts to donate to pro-choice organizations typically focus on Planned Parenthood, people on social media pointed out that another way to contribute to the cause of reproductive rights would be to donate to an abortion fund.

What is an abortion fund?

As the National Network of Abortion Funds explains, “Member organizations work across our network to remove financial and logistical barriers to abortion access. Some of them work with clinics to help pay for your abortion. Some of them offer support such as transportation, childcare, translation, doula services, and somewhere to stay if you have to travel to get your abortion.”

The day after the election, Heidi Groover at The Stranger spoke with Lindsay Rodriguez, communications director for the National Network of Abortion Funds, who said, given the nature of Trump’s campaign, "we know that literally every barrier to abortion access is about to get worse.”

"We're going to resist this. It's really powerful work," she added. "It's really critical work. And even when things are dark and sad, it's not something we give up on."

Share your opinion

Would you consider donating to an abortion fund?

No 27%Yes 73%