Abortion campaigners forced to scale back operations after funding dries up

Abortion advocates are concerned that funding to support the movement is drying up nearly two years after the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision, according to The Hill.

Several groups saw massive increases in funding immediately after the high court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June 2022, and some described it as “rage” donations. seconds on the Hill Now, pro-abortion campaigners are concerned that the issue is not galvanizing financial support as much as it once did, forcing some organizations to stop or reduce the services they offer after the “shocking drop”.

“We realized that any time something happens, whether it's a certain election, the introduction of an abortion ban or, in this case, the overturning of Roe, there's this immediate desire to please, to make a contribution to abortion fund or make contributions to the movement,” Oriaku Njoku, executive director of the National Network of Abortion Funds (NNAF), told The Hill.

“While we appreciate the anger, giving what's really required to make sure people can consistently get the care they need is this long-term investment in abortion funds,” Njoku said.

On January 17, just before what would have been Roe's 51st anniversary, NNAF announced that in the year after the Dobbs decision, “abortion funds disbursed a total of $36,971,667 to individuals who sought abortion, growing funding budgets by 88%.” seconds to a press release. The press release then went on to explain that after the big funding push, the money suddenly ran out despite more women seeking help with abortions.

Activists cited a lack of national coverage and defocusing the issue as part of the reason for the decline, according to The Hill. They also argued that because lots of states have passed or are watching passing pro-life laws costs more to help get women out of state to have abortions.

Bree Wallace, director of case management for the Tampa Bay Abortion Fund, said at first the money was “just pouring in,” but after 2022 to 2023 donations dropped 63 percent, according to The Hill. Laurie Bertram Roberts, co-founder of the Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Fund, said at one point they were helping 20 women a week get abortions, but now it's down to two or three.

“No disrespect to the rage donors,” Bertram Roberts told The Hill. “They allowed us to see a lot of people before Roe came down. What happens is now we have these harder, higher standards to meet to get people to care. And we have less investment.”

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