Three years ago, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority enabled states to severely restrict abortion or ban it outright. Since then, 17 states have enacted such limits; infant and maternal mortality have risen in many of them. But the impact of overturning Roe v. Wade extends far beyond medical catastrophes. It also appears in the quieter struggles—a myriad of small, compounding barriers that stand between individuals and their access to health care. Here are some of the stories of people who have stepped up to do what they can to provide care, and some of the women who found themselves trapped in a system increasingly difficult to navigate.
So much of the barrier to care is an information gap. We have funds, and there are three all-trimester abortion clinics in our region. If more people knew that, I think it would make navigating care easier.
Once they have an abortion scheduled, we can provide financial help for the procedure. If their gap in funding is less than $500, we can generally say, “We’ve got you!” If it’s a much larger gap, we may have to start a “solidarity thread,” which is when we start fundraising with other abortion funds to try to close that gap. Solidarity threads tend to be for cases that are 20 weeks and up because they’re more expensive.
From 20 to 28 weeks, you’re looking at gaps of $5,000 to $6,000. After 28 weeks, you’re looking at $10,000 and up. We have six or seven foundations that give us in the $10,000 to $80,000 range, but most of the rest comes from individuals. In 2023, their contributions allowed us to help almost 4,000 abortion seekers.
On a good week, we can fund 75 to 80 people. If we run out, we try to refer them elsewhere or suggest they call us back next week when our budget resets. Telling someone they might have to reschedule their appointment is not easy. But there’s just such limited funding, and so many people who need it.
After Florida’s six-week abortion ban took effect in May 2024, we saw a big uptick—about 225 percent. [Floridians] now make up the fourth-highest volume of people we fund.
Some people are confused about why they’re having to travel for an abortion when their pregnancy isn’t even viable. Someone told them, “You could die if you continue this pregnancy.” Those are some of the more emotionally complex cases. They’re people who had a wanted pregnancy, and they’ve been told they must travel to a place they’ve possibly never been before to have a potentially multiday procedure.
It should be as easy for everyone as it is in DC, where you can get on the metro system, go a couple of stops, and get to a clinic. Access should not be defined by your zip code.
—Alisha Dingus, executive director, DC Abortion Fund
