An abortion fund is a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

that provides financial and logistical assistance to individuals who cannot afford the costs of an

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

.Towey S, Poggy S, and Roth R (2005). ''Abortion funding: A matter of justicity.'' Amherst, MA: National Network of Abortion Funds. Abortion funds play a role in financing abortion services in countries where abortion is legal but not accessible. For example, health insurance may not cover abortion or transportation to abortion clinics may be financially or logistically infeasible. Abortion funds also provide assistance in cities, states, provinces or countries where abortion is illegal and women travel elsewhere to obtain a legal abortion.

Function

Abortion funds determine the amount of financial assistance based on individual need. Clients are interviewed individually and are expected to contribute as much as possible

out-of-pocket An out-of-pocket expense, or out-of-pocket cost (OOP), is the direct payment of money that may or may not be later reimbursed from a third-party source. For example, when operating a vehicle, gasoline, parking fees and tolls are considered out-o ...

, with the remainder provided by the fund as grant and/or repayable loan. Abortion funds rarely provide funding for the entire procedure. Some funds will combine resources with other funds to increase the grant or loan total. Most abortion funds serve a particular region or metropolitan area. Some abortion funds are related to a specific clinic, with funds available only for patients of that clinic. In addition to covering medical costs, some abortion funds provide child care, transportation assistance, meals, doula services, and other support services. Most abortion funds are funded primarily by local donors and grant-making institutions. However, in 2019, the New York City Council allocated $250,000 to a local abortion fund for patients traveling from other states to New York for an abortion. Planned Parenthood clinics also have their own internal funding mechanism called the justice fund. Additionally, many independent abortion clinics in the U.S. offer discounts for students, military personnel, and patients who are Medicaid recipients. Abortion funds operate in a number of countries. The National Network of Abortion Funds (NNAF) is an umbrella group for local abortion funds in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and operates the

Tiller A tiller or till is a lever used to steer a vehicle. The mechanism is primarily used in watercraft, where it is attached to an outboard motor, rudder post, rudder post or stock to provide leverage in the form of torque for the helmsman to turn ...

Memorial Fund. The National Abortion Federation (NAF) operates a toll-free hotline for abortion funding and referrals in the United States and Canada. The NAF hotline also provides options counseling, case management for people with special needs, and may provide travel or additional funding assistance. The Women's Reproductive Rights Assistance Project (WRRAP) is another national abortion fund in the U.S., created by the L.A.

National Council of Jewish Women The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Founded in 1893, the NCJW describes itself as the oldest Jewish women's grassroots organization organization in the USA and currently has over 225,000 members. ...

in 1991, which funds approximately 1000 people's abortion procedures across the U.S. per year. The Abortion Support Network serves residents of Europe, mainly from

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

, who need to travel for an abortion
The MARIA Abortion Fund for Social Justice
provides financial, logistical and emotional support to access legal abortion services in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

Women Help Women
is an online non-profit organization that provides medical abortion, contraception and emergency contraception to women globally, excluding the U.S., Canada, and parts of western Europe. The Women Help Women site also redirects callers to local abortion funds, resources, and hotlines.

Legislation

State, federal or global legislation may also impact abortion accessibility as well as financial assistance for abortion. In the United States, federal funding for abortion through Medicaid, the public health insurance program for low-income residents, is banned except for cases of incest, rape, and life endangerment due to the Hyde Amendment. In addition, as of 2019, 33 states and the District of Columbia prohibit the use of state Medicaid funds for abortion, and 11 states restrict private health insurance for abortion. Furthermore, U.S. legislation known as the Mexico City Policy, th
Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance policy
or the

global gag rule The Mexico City policy, sometimes referred to by its critics as the global gag rule, is a United States government policy blocking U.S. federal funding for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) providing abortion counseling or referrals, advocati ...

, prohibits U.S. foreign assistance to organizations unless they promise not to perform or actively promote abortion as a form of family planning. This applies to public health organizations which may provide funding assistance for or information about abortion
The Safe Abortion Action Fund (SAAF)
was established in 2006 by

International Planned Parenthood Federation The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) is a global non-governmental organisation with the broad aims of promoting sexual and reproductive health, and advocating the right of individuals to make their own choices in family planni ...

(IPPF) to fund local organizations that have been impacted by the Global Gag Rule, including those that fund abortion.

Abortion costs in the United States

Cost is a common barrier to obtaining an abortion in the United States. The cost of an abortion varies by facility, type of abortion, and

gestation Gestation is the period of development during the carrying of an embryo, and later fetus, inside viviparous animals (the embryo develops within the parent). It is typical for mammals, but also occurs for some non-mammals. Mammals during pregn ...

of the pregnancy. As of 2014, the median cost of a procedural or

medication abortion A medical abortion, also known as medication abortion or non-surgical abortion, occurs when drugs (medication) are used to bring about an abortion. Medical abortions are an alternative to surgical (also called procedural or instrumentation) a ...

in the first trimester is estimated to be about $500, and about twice as much in the second trimester. This does not include non-medical costs, such as transportation, lodging, childcare and lost wages. The majority of U.S. abortion patients are poor or low-income, and most do not carry insurance coverage that pays for abortion. Private health insurance does not always cover abortion, and public health insurance covers abortions only within certain circumstances. As a result, the majority of abortion patients incur high out-of-pocket costs when receiving abortion services. The out-of-pocket costs of abortion contribute to delays in seeking care, which can further increase costs for the procedure and for travel to clinics that offer abortion at later gestation.

Legality

Lawmakers in

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its Abortion by country, legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in r ...

states have been targeting and threatening abortion funds and their donors with criminal prosecution under their state's abortion statutes. On March 18, 2022, State Representative Briscoe Cain sent cease-and-desist letters to every abortion fund in Texas, declaring them "criminal organizations" and demanding that they immediately halt payments for elective abortions performed in Texas. Cain warned abortion funds that they were violating Texas's unrepealed pre-Roe abortion statutes by aiding or abetting elective abortions, and exposing each of their employees, volunteers, and donors to felony criminal prosecution. Cain said that

Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protected the right to have an ...

did not create or recognize a constitutional right to pay for another person's abortion, and that Roe protects only abortion providers and their patients from prosecution under the state's pre-Roe criminal abortion statutes. In response, abortion funds demanded that Cain retract his claims and threatened to sue him for defamation.

References

{{reflist

External links

National Network of Abortion Funds
- A US-based network of ~70 member abortion funds in about 40 states and the District of Columbia. The Network also runs advocacy campaigns to work toward repeal of abortion coverage restrictions, such as the Hyde Amendment.
National Abortion Federation
- A US-based organization providing information, referrals, and assistance with coordinating funding, sometimes from multiple sources.
Abortion Support Network
- A UK-based organization that provides advice, financial assistance, and housing for residents of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man, Malta and Gibraltar who need to travel for an abortion.
MARIA Abortion Fund for Social Justice
- A Mexico-based organization that provides financial, logistical and emotional support to access legal abortion services in Mexico City.
Women Help Women
- an organization providing medical abortion, contraception, emergency contraception, and information and local referrals globally Abortion-rights movement Abortion in the United States

Function

Legislation

Abortion costs in the United States

Legality

See also

References

External links