Abortion Funds Are In ‘A State Of Emergency’ 2 Years After Dobbs

A critical lifeline for abortion access is fraying ― and few people appear to be paying attention.

Several leaders of abortion funds around the country convened a call with reporters this month to relay a stark warning ahead of the two-year anniversary of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Supreme Court decision that repealed federal abortion protections.

“I’m generally not someone to catastrophize the situation, but the reality is that we’ve come together today in crisis,” Oriaku Njoku, executive director of the National Network of Abortion Funds, said on the call. “Abortion funds are finding ways to make reproductive justice a reality in spite of us being in a state of emergency.”

Abortion funds help pay for costs associated with abortion, including money for the procedure or abortion pills. Many funds also help with practical expenses such as gas, flights, accommodation and often child care. In 2023, funds in the NNAF network provided $36 million in funding for abortions and over $10 million in travel and logistical support. Every dollar these funds take in is spent on abortion patients, save for the few funds that are staffed.

Abortion funds initially saw a historic increase in donations after the fall of Roe v. Wade in June 2022. But since then, donations have dwindled , forcing funds to face the grim reality that they may have to cut staff or close their doors entirely.

“I’m afraid that there is this level of complacency that has happened post-Dobbs,” Njoku said. “This is not the same movement that it was five years ago, let alone 50 years ago, and yet we’re still operating and funding as if it were the same issue as it was before.”

Donations spurred from rage over Dobbs are drying up even as the need for