Abortion Funds Led By Black Women Are At The Forefront Of Reproductive Justice Into Practice
Abortion funds are not your average community-based organization; they are living, breathing testaments to radical self-care and community resilience. These organizations provide crucial financial, emotional, and logistical support to individuals seeking abortion care, ensuring that economic barriers do not prevent people from accessing the services they need.
Even before the Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade through Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in 2022, states across the U.S. imposed increasingly restrictive abortion laws, disproportionately impacting Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC), LGBTQ+ individuals, young people, and those in rural or low-income areas. Abortion funds have been filling these gaps for some time through collective action and mutual aid, demonstrating that self-care is not just an individual pursuit but a deeply political and communal commitment to justice and well-being.
Among these organizations at the forefront of this essential work are Black-led abortion funds. ARC Southeast (Access Reproductive Care-Southeast), based in Atlanta, serves six Southern states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee. It’s dedicated to providing resources to those who are disproportionately impacted by restrictive abortion laws.
“We are directly countering the narrative that some people don’t deserve access to safe, legal abortion,” says Angel Whaley, co-executive director of ARC Southeast. “By funding abortions, we are saying you deserve this. You deserve autonomy and control over your own body.”
Alexia Rice-Henry, fellow co-executive director, adds, “Our work is about filling the gaps where the state has deliberately created barriers. It’s about ensuring 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 individuals emphasize the importance of being co-leaders, which reflects the collective and collaborative nature of their work. “Being a Black-led organization, we understand that our communities are diverse and have unique needs,” Whaley says. “Our co-leadership model allows us to harness a range of perspectives and experiences. We are deeply aware of the intersecting oppressions that our communities face. This awareness drives us to approach our work with a lens of reproductive justice, recognizing that the fight for abortion access is also a fight against racism, economic inequality, and other forms of oppression.”
The Abortion Fund of Ohio, the state’s only statewide abortion fund, also plays a crucial role in this landscape. It provides financial assistance, as well as emotional and logistical support to individuals seeking services in the midwestern state and beyond. The fund has seen an unprecedented increase in demand post-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 over 500% post-Dobbs. We are seeing longer wait times between client intake and appointment dates. We are seeing more people getting care at later gestational ages. We are supporting nearly twice as many minors navigating the judicial bypass process than we were last year. The snowball effect of loss of access across the country is well in effect. It leaves nothing but horrible consequences for the most marginalized.”
Dotson-Dufault further highlights the disproportionate impact on marginalized communities, noting that Black people, Indigenous individuals, and other people of color disproportionately affected are already impacted in all sectors of society, including in terms of housing, education, food, employment, transportation, and healthcare as a whole.
Reflecting on her personal motivation and the broader impact of her work, Dotson-Dufault drives home the importance of providing access in the face of so many barriers.
“Having had abortions myself, I know how life-changing and life-supporting being able to access safe, supported abortion care is. This has made me grind harder than I ever thought to in order to make sure people have access to the care they want, need, and deserve.”
She adds, “I hear people’s stories. Having abortions allowed them to create the family they wanted when it was the right time, care for the family they already have, move up in their career, finish school, and more.”
Access Reproductive Justice (Access RJ) is California’s only statewide abortion fund, serving not only residents but also individuals traveling to the West Coast for care. Based in a state often hailed as a reproductive freedom safe-haven, Access RJ has nonetheless faced intensified challenges in the wake of the Dobbs decision. As Jessica Pinkney-Gil, executive director of the organization, explains, “We provide culturally competent, human-centered care to ensure we meet people where they are. We’re also seeing more Californians reaching out to access care. We believe that’s because people are more confident and comfortable seeking the support they need to assert their bodily autonomy now more than ever.”
She continues, “Navigating the post-Dobbs landscape means more than just providing support; it’s about addressing the increased complexities and barriers that people now face, regardless of their location.”
Pinkney-Gil’s insight uplifts a critical truth: abortion restrictions in any part of the country ripple outward, affecting people everywhere. Even in states with relatively broad reproductive rights, challenges persist. Individuals in these places often encounter misinformation about abortion services, leading to confusion and delay. Clinic wait times can be substantial, creating barriers for those seeking timely care. Additionally, rural areas, regardless of the state, may face severe access issues, often compounded by the presence of misleading anti-abortion clinics posing as legitimate providers, also known as fake clinics or Crisis Pregnancy Centers.
When asked how individuals and communities can support these organizations, she says it’s simple. “Fund your local abortion fund, preferably one that is Black-led or led by people of color.” She says many abortion funds are led by Black people and queer folks, and they are “right here in your communities,” helping those within them.
“We have been doing mutual aid work for decades,” Pinkney-Gil adds. “You just need to seek us out. We exist in every type of political climate and environment to meet community members’ needs right where they are.”
