Black Women-Led Abortion Funds Are on the forefront of Reproductive Justice in Practice

Abortion funds are usually not your average community-based organization; they live, respiration testaments to radical self-care and community resilience. These organizations provide critical financial, emotional, and logistical support to those looking for abortion care, ensuring that economic barriers don’t prevent people from accessing the services they need.

Even before the Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in 2022, states across the United States were imposing increasingly restrictive abortion laws, disproportionately affecting Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC), LGBTQ+ people, youth, and other people living in rural or low-income areas. Abortion funds have been filling these gaps for a while through collective motion and mutual aid, demonstrating that self-care shouldn’t be just a person pursuit but a deeply political and communal commitment to justice and well-being.

Organizations which are spearheading this essential work include black-led abortion funds. ARC Southeast (Access Reproductive Care-Southeast), headquartered in Atlanta, serves six Southern states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Its goal is to provide resources to those disproportionately affected by restrictive abortion laws.

“We are directly challenging the narrative that some people don’t deserve access to safe, legal abortion,” says Angel Whaley, co-executive director of ARC Southeast. “When we fund abortions, we are saying you deserve it. You deserve autonomy and control over your own bodies.”

Alexia Rice-Henry, co-executive director, adds, “Our work is about filling gaps where the state has intentionally created barriers. It’s about making sure that people — especially those who are Black, brown, queer, low-income, and living in the South — have the resources they need to make decisions about their own bodies.”

Both emphasize the importance of co-leadership, which reflects the collaborative and collective nature of their work. “As a Black-led organization, we understand that our communities are diverse and have unique needs,” Whaley says. “Our co-leadership model allows us to leverage a range of perspectives and experiences. We are deeply aware of the intersecting oppressions our communities face. This awareness leads us to approach our work from a reproductive justice perspective, recognizing that the fight for abortion access is also a fight against racism, economic inequality, and other forms of oppression.”

Ohio Abortion Fundthe state’s only abortion fund, also plays a key role on this landscape. It provides financial assistance, in addition to emotional and logistical support to people looking for services within the Midwestern state and beyond. The fund has seen an unprecedented increase in demand after Dobbs.

“AFO has never seen this level of need before,” says Lexis Dotson-Dufault, executive director of the Abortion Fund of Ohio. The need for our support has increased by greater than 500 percent because the Dobbs case. We are seeing longer wait times between client intake and appointment dates. We are seeing more people receiving care later in life. We are supporting almost twice as many minors navigating the bypass process than we did last 12 months. The snowball effect of lost access across the country is in full effect. It is leaving nothing but dire consequences for essentially the most marginalized.”

Dotson-Dufault further highlights the disproportionate impact on marginalized communities, noting that Black, Indigenous, and other people of color who’re disproportionately affected are already feeling the results across all sectors of society, including housing, education, food, employment, transportation, and health care as an entire.

Reflecting on her personal motivation and the broader impact of her work, Dotson-Dufault emphasizes the importance of providing access within the face of so many barriers.

“Having had abortions myself, I know how life-changing and life-sustaining it is to have access to safe, supported abortion care. It has made me more determined than I ever thought to make sure people have access to the care they want, need, and deserve.”

She adds: “I hear people’s stories. Abortions have allowed them to have the family they wanted when the time was right, to take care of the family they already have, to advance in their careers, to go to college, and so much more.”

Access to Reproductive Justice (Access RJ) is the one state abortion fund in California, serving not only residents but additionally those traveling to the West Coast for care. Based in a state often considered a shelter for reproductive freedomAccess RJ has nonetheless faced increased challenges within the wake of the Dobbs decision. As Jessica Pinkney-Gil, the organization’s executive director, explains, “We provide culturally competent, person-centered care to make sure we meet people where they are. We’re also seeing more Californians reaching out for access to care. We believe this is because people are more confident and comfortable seeking the support they need to assert their bodily autonomy more than ever before.”

She continues: “Navigating the post-Dobbs landscape is about more than just providing support; it’s about addressing the increasing complexities and barriers that people now face, regardless of where they are.”

Pinkney-Gil’s remark reveals a very important truth: Abortion restrictions in any a part of the country are spreading, affecting people all over the place. Even in states with relatively broad reproductive rights, challenges persist. People in these places often face misinformation about abortion services, leading to confusion and delays. Wait times at clinics might be significant, creating barriers for people looking for timely care. In addition, rural areaswhatever the country, they could encounter serious access problems, often exacerbated by the presence of misleading anti-abortion clinics posing as legal providers, also referred to as fake pregnancy clinics or crisis pregnancy centers.

When asked how individuals and communities can support these organizations, she says it’s easy: “Donate to a local abortion fund, preferably one that’s run by Black people or people of color.” She says many abortion funds are run by Black and queer people, and so they’re “right here in your communities,” helping those in your communities.

“We’ve been in the mutual aid business for decades,” Pinkney-Gil adds. “You just have to find us. We exist in every political climate and environment to meet the needs of community members where they are.”