Fund Abortion Now! Title Text
Funding abortion is more important now than ever. As a group of Resource Generation member leaders, we are committed to mobilizing our network to support abortion funds, as we face down a post-Roe world. We aim to collectively move $2 Million to the National Network of Abortion Funds (NNAF) and local abortion funds over the next 3 years.

Action Steps

Donate to NNAF and/or their Abortion Fund members via one or more of the following ways:
  1. Give general operating dollars directly to NNAF at nnaf.org/resourcegeneration
  2. Give to NNAF’s Collective Power Fund at nnaf.org/resourcegenerationcpf which will be redistributed to member funds
  3. Give directly to your local NNAF member Abortion Fund
* Please track your pledge/donation at our pledge tracking form so we can track our collective impact.

Funding Best Practices to Keep in Mind1

  • Support long term movement building with multi-year funding (we recommend a 3 year commitment)
  • Provide unrestricted general operating funding
  • Prioritize state & local organizations, including networks of state & local organizations
  • If possible, avoid anonymous funding in order to support the destigmitization of abortion and funding abortion access
  • In addition to funding the essential work of abortion funds, be sure to fund other Reproductive Justice organizations (some others are listed below)

Reproductive Justice 101

What is reproductive justice?

The term “reproductive justice” (RJ) was officially coined in 1994 by a caucus of Black women convening in Chicago who called themselves “Women of African Descent for Reproductive Justice.” This establishment of the RJ framework spoke to the failure of a majority white and class privileged-led Women’s movement to address the needs and experiences of Black people, people of color, and marginalized communities. According to SisterSong, reproductive justice is “the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities.”

Where does abortion access fit in to reproductive justice?

Abortion access is only one part of the web of reproductive decision-making, and sits within the interlocking fights for racial, economic, gender, disability, and climate justice, and against systemic oppressions. It’s also important to note that legal abortion does not equal abortion access.

Historically, abortion rights campaigns utilizing and emphasizing the legal “choice” framework rather than an RJ framework have failed to: center communities most impacted by oppression, address material & social conditions of those communities, and incorporate essential nuances informed by those communities into their fight for abortion - such as the violent history of eugenics, forced sterilization, and medical racism and harm inflicted upon Black people, Indigenous people, non-Black people of color, disabled people, and poor and working class people.

A Brief History of Abortion in America

What is the history of abortion access in the United States?

The history of abortion is long, tracing back to ancient times. But growing reproductive inequity in the United States, which has accelerated in recent decades, mirrors larger political developments after WWII. Namely growth in the carceral capacities of the state and the criminalization of poverty, race, and other vectors of marginalized identity. Below, we offer a brief visual timeline of some major moments in American abortion history.

Scroll to see more →

twelve thirteen fourteen fifteen sixteen seventeen eighteen nineteen twenty twentyone twentytwo twentythree twentyfour twentyfive twentysix twentyseven twentyeight twentynine thirty

All About Abortion Funds

What is an abortion fund?

At the most basic level, an abortion fund pays for the abortions of those who can’t afford the cost. As we know, there are many systemic obstacles preventing individuals from accessing abortions in addition to just the cost of the procedure. This has only been worsened by COVID-19. That’s why abortion funds might also provide “practical support,” via funds for things like travel, child care, lodging, translation services, or abortion doulas.

Though all abortion funds are working to make abortions accessible, their structure (staff vs. volunteer run), size, services, and processes may differ. One of the beautiful strengths of abortion funds is they are each rooted in their own local cultural contexts. Additionally, many funds, though local and autonomous, are members of larger networks such as the NNAF. Networks allow funds to build collective power.

Are abortion funds well resourced?

Though abortion funds are a cornerstone of the fight for affordable and accessible abortion, they are severely underresourced.

For example, the NNAF reported that they "directly supported 56,155 people in fiscal year 2019. But [that was] only 26% of the 215,573 calls [the] network received that year. There is great unmet need."

A 2021 study by The National Committee for Responsible Philanthropy (NCRF) found that of the 912 million foundation dollars directed to reproductive justice between 2015 and 2019, only 20% went specifically to abortion access, and less than 3% went to abortion funds.

Abortion funds, like many other frontline orgs, are also impacted by "boom/bust" funding cycles. This means that donations and grants increase during moments of well-publicized crisis, such as a new abortion ban law, but that funding fades away as donors move on to the next headline.

Check out some other organizations who are working across the Reproductive Justice landscape:
If you’d like to learn more about Reproductive Justice and abortion access, check out some of the following resources:

Reproductive (in)Justice

Forced Sterilization

Eugenics in America

History of the American Pro-Life Movement

Abortion Access

Medication Abortion & Self-Managed Abortion

Birth Justice

Footnotes

  1. National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy: A World Without Abortion is Already Here. How Philanthropy Should Respond
  2. Sister Song: Reproductive Justice
  3. Sister Song: Reproductive Justice
  4. Sister Song: Reproductive Justice
  5. National Network of Abortion Funds- About
  6. Reproductive Rights Activism in the Post-Roe Era
  7. New Paper Examines Disproportionate Effect Of Eugenics On NC’s Black Population
  8. America’s Forgotten History of Forced Sterilization
    & Forced Sterilization Policies In The Us Targeted Minorities And Those With Disabilities – And Lasted Into The 21st Century
  9. Timeline: The 200-Year Fight for Abortion Access;
    Historical Abortion Law Timeline: 1850 to Today;
    ‘A fundemental right’: a timeline of US abortion rights since Roe v Wade;
    Abortion in America: A Visual Timeline
  10. Abortion and Contraception in the Middle Ages;
    Historical Attitudes to Abortion
  11. Abortion Decriminalization is Part of the Larger Struggle Against Policing and Criminalization
  12. The Criminalization of Abortion Began as a Business Tactic
  13. Timeline - NARAL Pro-Choice America
  14. Bill to Legalize Abortion Clears Hawaii Legislature
  15. Roe v. Wade: Behind the Case That Established the Legal Right to Access Abortion
  16. Factsheet: The Hyde Amendment
    Hyde Amendment
  17. Biden's Budget Proposal Reverses A Decades-Long Ban On Abortion Funding
  18. GOP makes new offer in funding talks
  19. What is the Global Gag Rule?
  20. Advocates call for a permanent repeal of the Global Gag Rule after decades of back and forth
  21. What did Planned Parenthood v. Casey say?
  22. US Doctor is Slain During Protest Over Abortions
  23. 25 Years Timeline - National Network of Abortion Funds
  24. Guttmacher Institute: Medication Abortion
  25. About- All* Above All
  26. U.S. states have enacted 1,336 abortion restrictions since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973
  27. Center Report: More State Abortion Restrictions Passed in 2021 Than in Any Year Since Roe v. Wade
  28. Danger in the Shadows: Supreme Court Uses Shadow Docket to Threaten Abortion Rights
    Supreme Court declines to block Texas abortion law that bans procedure at six weeks
  29. Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization: The Case in Depth
    Supreme Court will hear direct challenge to Roe v. Wade
  30. 26 States Are Certain or Likely to Ban Abortion Without Roe: Here’s Which Ones and Why
  31. National Network of Abortion Funds: Common Questions About Abortion;
    National Network of Abortion Funds: Abortion Funds 101
  32. National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy: The Cost of COVID How the Pandemic Shifted Abortion and the Funds that Guard Patient Access, Rights, and Justice
  33. Brennan Center for Justice- Abortion Funds Enable Access: The Time to Invest in Direct Aid is Now