This article is part of a larger series called The End of Power. Ulo Here Read more.
For many people, scheduling an abortion with a real health care provider is quite difficult. Furthermore, many do not live in areas where abortion is possible and have to decide to pay for fuel or the plane and possibly a hotel room for one or more nights. Many people who want to have an abortion have small children, so the problem of child care has also arisen. Then there is the cost of actual medical care, with an average of $ 500 per clinical procedure in most parts of the country. Waiting means higher costs.
When all these additional costs are surprising, an abortion fund may be involved.
Nationwide, abortion funds are managed by people willing to help others understand how to have an abortion, provide grants in various amounts to cover meeting costs, as well as costs such as transportation, child care, and accommodation. recovery.
The funds allow women, including many women of color, to have an abortion using medications (in pill form) or in the clinic office. Some travel hundreds or thousands of miles. Some have no insurance, while others are covered by Medicaid or private insurance.
At least one foundation, the Brigid Alliance, has helped 10 -year -old children cure abortion. Second, the Midwest Access Coalition will work to connect people not close to major airports with private flights to get the care they need.
All foundations that HuffPost spoke to said they are preparing to address additional requests in the coming months by hiring new full-time staff, training more volunteers, and finding funding while the Court Supreme looks ready to revoke access to abortion at the national level. Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Many states are in the South, West and Midwest. Defined or likely According to the Gutmacher Institute, prohibit abortion without assistance. States that have passed abortion rights laws, such as California and Illinois, can expect more freelance travelers seeking health care there.
Some abortion funds have existed for decades. Although the Supreme Court legalized this work in its 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, subsequent decisions allowed conservative states to observe. Unnecessary medical roadblocks On the way to access abortion. Laws continue to be cracked and clinics are closing, meaning for some the nearest facility may be hundreds of miles away, and not all clinics will provide an abortion if necessary in the next pregnancy. Because of these attacks by the state legislature, some abortion rights activists say millions of Americans have already done so. Living in America after Roy.
A Texas woman who received help from the Chicago Abortion Fund told HuffPost she found herself surrounded by other Texans when she arrived in Illinois on a date earlier this year. In September, Texas passed an almost complete ban banning one -time abortions. Electrical activity in the fetus can be determined, which usually occurs within six weeks, until many women find out they are pregnant. Other states follow.
The woman, like many abortionists, is already a mother: the mother of a 2 -year -old girl. Staff at a clinic in Texas she uses to confirm her pregnancy tried to encourage her not to have an abortion.
“They even brought people to pray for me,” he said. HuffPost does not use your name to protect your privacy.
“My opinion has been decided. I don’t want to bring anyone into this world, I know I can’t take care of myself physically and mentally. I want to prepare well. “I want to be financially prepared,” he said, adding, “There’s a lot to do in today’s world.”
He had to seek help twice a year. He said a second time he was “extremely nervous”, he said he was not facing verdict. He insisted on paying more for his own expenses on a return visit to the clinic where he met the same employee who first helped him.
“He just opened his hands,” he told the staff member, “and I can’t thank him enough.”
The woman told HuffPost that two other people she met at the clinic lost their jobs to have an abortion during the holidays.
Kudsia Sharif, deputy director of the Chicago Abortion Fund, described abortion funds as a form of mutual aid, as well as the many community organizations that emerged in response to the Korovirus pandemic. CAF was able to spend about $ 500,000 last year on direct assistance, Sharif said. But he noted that the stigma surrounding abortion is still a “real barrier” to funding and assistance.
While some run their operations using grants from large organizations, grassroots support is key to maintaining more funding. Requests are handled by a mix of staff and volunteers, depending on the group, and can occur at certain times of the day or week that they respond to messages.
In general, it’s a good idea to book an appointment first, tell the clinic that you think you need financial help, and give you the opportunity to apply for abortion funds. You can also apply the funds independently.
The National Abortion Funds Network warns that the total cost of the procedure is unlikely to be fully covered. The CAF, for example, has an average of $ 100 to $ 300 for assistance, Sharif said. According to its annual report, the New Orleans Abortion Fund averaged approximately $ 300 per person last year.
Some groups like the Women’s Reproductive Rights Project – which calls itself the largest national abortion fund – work directly with the hospital, doctor, or clinic that provides the abortion. Sylvia Ghazariani, CEO of WRRAP, told HuffPost that her organization works with 700 health professionals nationwide and recently launched a pilot program to increase access to abortion drugs, which cost only $ 150 through of the program. Last year, WRRAP sent about $ 600,000 to clinics to help about 3,000 patients, Ghazarian said.
Demand will only increase. The Gutmacher Institute estimates that California could see 3,000 more patients, while Illinois could see more than 9,000 percent in Roy’s loss.
“We have more and more people referring these days without appointments for weeks because the clinics are heavily booked,” said Odil Shalit, CEO of Brigid Alliance.
The Midwest Access Coalition said in its most recent annual report, by 2021, that it is “no longer common” for a group to have a one -day procedure at an abortion facility.
Shalit said Brigid’s help could include “booking flights, bus tickets, train tickets, hotel reservations for you and your family if you have a situation where you need to travel with they, send money for meals, pay for childcare, gas, taxes …, parking, tire repairs and on-site connection and coordination, personal volunteer support you may need. he: “For example, if you don’t have a cell phone where you can use a Lyft gift card, we can send it to you.”
Although organizations are trying to make the most of their resources, there are still important needs that are not being met, says the National Abortion Funds Network.
As the MAC report said at the end of the year, “We are entering a difficult period for reproductive autonomy and justice.”
“I just wanted [people] “Do what they think is best for them,” the Texas woman told HuffPost.
“I feel very unfair to tell us what we can and can’t do with our bodies.”
To view an innovative list of more than 80 organizations, apply along with the donation links on the NNAF website.
Source: Huffpost
