abortion post roe

Post-Roe Abortion: Access, Resources, and Ways to Support Reproductive Rights

August 21, 2022 / By / Leave a Comment

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If it isn’t clear by now, here at Women’s Personal Finance, we are very vocal about the importance of abortion within the greater scope of rights for women and people with uteruses. Without bodily autonomy, any amount of financial autonomy or independence is a bit of a farce. After the overturn of Roe v Wade with the Dobbs decision, many parts of the United States were thrown back fifty years regarding the right to abortion. 

During one of our many discussions in the WPF Facebook group and within the ModMin messenger chat, Ariel, one of our moderators, began working on a comprehensive guide to abortion funds and other important related information. We felt this piece was too crucial to exist only as a pinned posted within the WPF Facebook group. Instead of just posting it there, we turned it into a full post for the WPF website, accessible to anyone, not just those in the Facebook group. 

This isn’t the first time we’ve addressed abortion and reproductive rights on the WPF website, and it’s certainly something that we frequently discuss in all the areas WPF exists. One of our ModMin team wrote this excellent and emotional piece (trigger warning for termination of a wanted pregnancy). If you’re looking to start thinking one step further and considering the ways things might go in our country in the future, you might want to check out this post on preparedness and finances too.

What started out as our reproductive health fund continues to grow and evolve based on the needs of our community. We’re aware that as we exist now, we can’t always be the place for these conversations in the community. But what we can do is help to present resources. 

Be mindful of your security and know that most anything you do online can be tracked unless you are actively aware of and practicing security measures above the level we can present here. The information in this post is offered as open educational resources. We suggest you reference this page regularly, so no one knows why or when you are here for any particular purpose.

-Angela and Regina, WPF Editors

Abortion Funds and Other Info

The Supreme Court’s Dobb’s decision wasn’t unexpected, but that didn’t lessen the blow when the decision was officially announced. Some people woke up with abortion being a legal option and went to bed with that right taken away from them. We know this isn’t the end of the rights that some politicians want to strip people of, but it certainly isn’t the beginning either. If you are reading this, I assume you are also upset, enraged, frustrated, worried, and any other number of emotions and trying to figure out what you can do to help.

The first step is to take a deep breath. We aren’t hopeless, and we aren’t alone. Protecting our reproductive rights is going to be a marathon. Not a sprint. This is the time to listen to the Black and Brown folks (most likely ma-ge’s or ‘marginalized genders’) who have the infrastructure and have been doing the work and preparing for the inevitability of this very situation. Donate your money to local abortion funds. They know how best to use it and get that money directly to the community. They are the experts. We do not need to reinvent the wheel or start our own thing; we need to give our money, recourses, and time to those organizations. They have been doing this work for decades; listen and learn from them. 

How to Get an Abortion in the Post-Roe United States

Digital Security

If you are looking for information about self-managed abortions, an abortion with pills, or to make an appointment with a clinic, it is essential to understand that things have changed. First, if you are in a state with restrictive abortion laws, you must be careful about your digital security. Download a safer (note- not foolproof, just safer) messaging app like Signal. Here is an article about how to do a digital security check-up. Here is another about how to avoid leaving a digital footprint. Already, women are being prosecuted for information found through social media and digital conversations. Please, consider these safer ways to exist online while knowing that anything shared online is not 100% safe and secure.

Online Resources & Abortion Pills

For those who aren’t familiar, over half of the abortions in the United States are now done by pill, not surgery. There are now many options for online access to abortion pills – and as of now, the postal service will not proactively help states enforce laws prohibiting the use of abortion pills. Want to read more about this complicated – and divisive – part of abortion rights? Reuters has a good article about the complex nature of abortion pills Post-Roe.

Abortion Funds and Local Clinics

After you’ve created a safer (again, not perfect) online presence for yourself regarding abortion, here are some places to help you find local abortion funds and/or local clinics. If cost is an issue, please know that there are many wonderful groups to help in those situations. Don’t ever presume that you cannot get an abortion due to cost – due to the procedure cost and or the cost of travel/time off work/childcare. These organizations are here to help.

  • National Network of Abortion Funds – Has information about accessing abortion, finding a local clinic, finding an abortion fund, and helping pay for an abortion. 
  • Apiary – You can find national, regional, and state organizations to donate to and volunteer with at this link. They do not provide support directly but are a hub to find more regional resources. Please note that this is not a comprehensive list.
  • Indigenous Women Rising – “Indigenous Women Rising is committed to honoring Native & Indigenous People’s inherent right to equitable and culturally safe health options through accessible health education, resources, and advocacy.” They have an abortion fund specifically for Indigenous people and undocumented people nationwide. They also have a midwifery fund. 
  • Abortion Funds in Every State – This is a resource with a directory of local abortion funds and clinics in every state. 

Regional Organizations:

  • ARC Southeast – Services in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Mississippi
  • Midwest Access Coalition (MAC) – Services in Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Kansas, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Wisconsin, and South Dakota
  • Northwest Abortion Access Fund – Services in Washington, Alaska, Idaho, and Oregon

How to Help – Or Where to Turn

Not in need of an abortion yourself, or still living in a place where abortion rights are protected? You can support access around the country in many ways, and they need our continued support. And just because your rights may be safe now does not mean they forever will be, as we have so clearly seen in 2022. Unless abortion is a protected right for all of us, none of us are truly protected.

Organizations that help support independent clinics:

Organizations that Support Reproductive Rights:

  • Abortion Access Front – “AAF is the reproductive rights joint that uses humor and outrage to fight back online and on the ground against enemies of reproductive freedom (i.e., We’re EVERYWHERE). Part USO, part Habitat for Humanity, AAF is the only non-profit that travels the country doing comedy and providing aid and comfort to independent clinics in hostile states. Clinics and activists know when they ask AAF for help, #WeShowUp – with our voices, our love, our laughs, and most likely wine… lots of wine.”
  • Brigid Alliance – Provides people seeking abortions with travel, food, lodging, child care, and other logistical support. (WPF is a supporter of The Brigid Alliance, and we have previously matched new Mission Supporter funds with donations to Brigid).
  • If/When/How – “If/When/How transforms the law and policy landscape through advocacy, support, and organizing so all people have the power to determine if, when, and how to define, create, and sustain families with dignity and to actualize sexual and reproductive wellbeing on their own terms.”
  • National Black Network for Reproductive Justice – A national/state partnership focused on Black women leaders and reproductive justice.
  • National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health – Centering Latinx voices to fight for the fundamental human right to reproductive health, dignity, and justice.
  • https://shoutyourabortion.com/ – Normalizing abortion and elevating safe paths to access, regardless of legality.
  • https://www.all-options.org/ – Unconditional, judgment-free support for people in all of their decisions, feelings, and experiences with pregnancy, parenting, abortion, and adoption. 
  • https://abortionsquad.org/ – Online Abortion Resource Squad (OARS) is an online abortion accompaniment group. Our trained, expert volunteers ensure that every Reddit post asking for abortion-related help gets a quality, accurate, compassionate answer, and referral to the resources.

Volunteering and Donation to Abortion Organizations

As great as Planned Parenthood, The Center for Reproductive rights, NARAL, and The ACLU are…. They don’t need our money. They are well-known, longstanding organizations with access to much money and resources that smaller, independent clinics and state-based organizations don’t.

Now is a great time to set up a recurring monthly donation. There is a surge of interest in donating and volunteering, which is excellent. But the need will continue to be there, and recurring and sustained donations are greatly needed. Look at the organizations listed above, and pick one to send money to monthly. Consider it a subscription to the continuance of fundamental human rights.

Have a favorite local abortion group that we haven’t listed here? Let us know by dropping a comment – we’d love to add it to the list.

Political Action:

The first and best place to start will be your local abortion fund or clinic. Use the links above to find one near you, or consider “adopting” a clinic or fund in a state with stricter restrictions. Remember that they will likely be getting a large volume of potential volunteers ON TOP OF a large number of people needing their services and help, so please be patient. 

Tips for Talking About Abortion:

  • Say the word abortion. Don’t say “a woman’s right to choose,” “choice,” or other euphemisms. Say abortion. Talking about abortion reduces abortion stigma.
  • Be inclusive! Women are not the only ones who can have/need abortions. Don’t erase trans men, non-binary folk, or gender non-conforming people from the conversation. 
  • No talk about coat hangers or handmaids, no talk about “going back,” and nothing about abortions being “unsafe.” Remember that everyone loves someone who has had an abortion (including one of our incredible WPF Moderators who wrote about her heartbreaking story for us last fall).
  • When talking about abortion use, reference the Let’s Talk About Abortion Toolkit from Avow Texas. This toolkit will provide you with helpful information, messaging, and do’s and don’ts.
  • Talking points here from the Liberate Abortion Campaign. 
  • Lift the voices of people who have had abortions, Black and Brown folks, and all those who have been doing this work for decades within the Reproductive Justice movement.
  • Liberate Abortion has beautiful graphics you can easily share.
  • Liberal Jane on IG and Liberal Jane on Twitter have stunning graphics you can easily share.
  • We Testify IG, and We Testify Twitter centers on the stories and experiences of people who have abortions.

Education:

Merch:

And finally, if you want to support abortion right visibly by purchasing merchandise, consider where you do your buying. Not everything with a cute slogan on a t-shirt actually supports abortion rights. We live under Capitalism, after all, and plenty of companies are using those clothes, bags, and mugs to make a few dollars. The list below is nowhere near an exhaustive list of places to buy abortion rights-related merch, but please, do your research before buying and make sure your dollars go where they matter. 

Community and Women’s Personal Finance

Finally, we have a quick note from us here at Women’s Personal Finance, with gratitude to all of our Mission Supporters and Insiders: 

Thanks to all of you, we do not have any large corporate sponsors but are entirely community funded. Because of that, we can be loud and visible about abortion rights all the time – not just in the week post-Dobbs. Because of you, we can pay folks to put together content focused on abortion rights with no concern about a backlash around the effort. We have a baseline bar here at WPF, and nothing will make us back off. Some things are too important. 

Want to support posts like these and our loudmouth selves all over the internet? You can become a Mission Supporter for as little as $1 a month. We appreciate every one of you who helps us keep the lights on and allows us to be bold and loud about the things that matter. And yes, this is clearly related to finance. Without bodily autonomy, there is no financial freedom. 

Ariel C

Ariel is a respiratory therapist and moderator of the Women’s Personal Finance (Women on FIRE) Facebook group. When not at the hospital you can find her weightlifting at the gym, crocheting, or cuddling with her cat on the couch and reading a good book. 

Ariel is a respiratory therapist and moderator of the Women’s Personal Finance (Women on FIRE) Facebook group. When not at the hospital you can find her weightlifting at the gym, crocheting, or cuddling with her cat on the couch and reading a good book. 

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