Abortion Funds Provide Critical Aid. Now They Need Your Support.
By Yamani Hernandez and Megan Jeyifo
Since our inception in 1953, Playboy has served as a platform for open dialogue about the most culturally relevant, and sometimes controversial, topics of the day. The Playboy Forum, an editorial franchise that was minted in the July 1963 issue, is one of the many ways Playboy has upheld its commitment to free speech. As the first edition noted, the Playboy Forum invited “an interchange of ideas between reader and editor.” Whether you were an American citizen writing in about cannabis legalization or a Supreme Court Justice weighing in on abortion access (like Ruth Bader Ginsberg did in the August 1973 issue), your opinion was welcome in PLAYBOY’s pages regardless of your stance on the issue.
Today, we are building on the legacy of the Forum and Playboy’s legacy as an advocate for social justice through a series of ongoing op-eds from activists and trailblazers who are leading the charge towards a more equitable and pleasure-filled future. For this installment, we welcome the executive directors of the National Network of Abortion Funds and the Chicago Abortion Fund, who stress the urgent need for mutual aid and announce the 2021 edition of Fund-a-Thon, the largest grassroots fundraising event for abortion access.
The economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic has made one thing clear: In times of crisis and need, there are no guarantees the government will save you. People have to show up for each other. Millions of people working to make ends meet rely on mutual aid and the support of local organizations such as food banks to make it through. If you are in a position to help struggling communities stay fed, housed and healthy, consider also supporting another critical network — abortion funds.
There are currently more than 80 local abortion funds across the country building collective power by helping people pay for their care, and beyond financial support, funds help people navigate a system that says abortion is legal but creates barriers that make it nearly impossible to get one. Believing in the right to get an abortion means believing all people should be able to afford it. But there is a gap between the belief and the lived reality of people seeking care.
In the Midwest, the Chicago Abortion Fund recently heard from a caller who couldn’t afford an abortion because their gas bill was much higher than normal as a result of the cold weather and being home all day due to Covid guidelines. Another caller had to sell essential household items to cover the cost of their abortion. No one should be forced to choose between basic needs and paying for an abortion, but in our work with abortion funds, we hear stories like these every day.
On top of the emotional weight of trying to get an abortion in the face of political attacks and stigma, paying for abortion itself is a heavy burden for too many. In most states, people enrolled in Medicaid or other federal insurance are forced to pay for their care out of pocket because the federal Hyde Amendment prohibits them from using their health insurance for an abortion. That means folks who are more likely to experience poverty are left with limited options. As we’ve seen again and again in our nation, communities of color, LGBTQ people and people with disabilities are all hit harder in a society that devalues them.
In many areas of the country, demand for abortion funding has doubled in the past year. In Illinois, the Chicago Abortion Fund has already provided over $100,000 in funding to folks who have called the hotline this year from Illinois and surrounding states. January was its busiest month in recent history, and so far this year, more than 900 people have called the organization seeking support. By comparison, during CAF’s first full year providing funding 35 years ago, the fund heard from 106 people and was able to fund 33. This may not make headlines like other emergency aid work, but the situation is serious, and people need more help.
State restrictions also make it harder for people to get abortion care in their own communities. Some are forced to travel several hours to their closest abortion clinic, which may be in another city or state. The vast majority of Chicago Abortion Fund callers since last summer have been from another state. Parents often need to secure childcare and take time off work. Volunteers who answer the phones on abortion fund hotlines also provide practical support such as transportation and lodging. They help with childcare payments and translation services.
The pandemic has made every need more urgent. People seeking abortion care count on local abortion funds, but the hard truth is, right now, our organizations are faced with more requests than we can fill every single day. Abortion funds remain committed, but organizations are stretched thin. Not only are there are more people who cannot afford to access abortion, but people who were previously giving what they could out of their paychecks are now in need themselves. Our organizations are not new to helping people through crisis. Abortion fund volunteers and staff are shouldering this increased need with the same compassion and care we’ve provided for decades, but we need your support to build a world in which there’s a strong safety net, and no one has to go without the health care they need.
For the month of April, more than 40 abortion funds are participating in Fund-a-Thon, the largest grassroots fundraising event for abortions, to help make up the difference. In the face of the coronavirus pandemic, the need is even more acute. We’ve never seen anything like this.
Mutual aid doesn’t mean absolving the government of its duty to our communities. We are fighting political attacks and holding our elected leaders accountable. There is a brighter future ahead, where our culture and our government support abortion patients instead of stigmatizing them, but right now there are systemic failures all around us. The only way to ensure that people get the support they need is to help one another. And it is not just enough to believe in the right to abortion — together we can actually make it a reality.
Yamani Hernandez is the executive director of the National Network of Abortion Funds. Megan Jeyifo is the executive director of the Chicago Abortion Fund.
