Kendall McKenzie

WHY I'M BOWLING

I'm raising money for the New York Abortion Access Fund (the New York chapter of the National Network of Abortion Funds), a really amazing grassroots organization that helps people pay for abortions they couldn't otherwise afford.

Why would someone need help paying for an abortion? The majority of people pay for abortions out of their own pocket, and the average abortion costs about half of what the average low-income woman earns in a month. They may have to pay to travel long-ass distances to get to a clinic. Their state may have anti-abortion waiting periods (up to 72 hours), so they have to pay for lodging. They may have to take time off work. They may have to pay for childcare. They may have to pay for medically-necessary, state-mandated ultrasounds. 

All of these burdens force many people to delay getting their abortion until they can raise the funds and figure out the logistics, which makes the procedure more risky and way more expensive. (Over 1/3 of women who get second-trimester abortions say they wanted the abortion earlier but had to wait to raise money or find a provider.) They may have to travel even farther and wait even longer to have a later-term abortion. Or they’re forced to wait so long they can no longer get the abortion at all.

Most of these obstacles exist because of anti-choice laws and policies that are deliberately designed to make getting an abortion so difficult that it becomes impossible (because they’ve failed to make it illegal). This is some hot, mean garbage, and it punishes disadvantaged women the most.

Here are some more shitty facts:

• In the last 4 years, states have enacted 231 abortion restrictions. These restrictions always = higher costs.
• 42% of women who get abortions live below the poverty level. 27% of women who get abortions are living at or just barely above the poverty level.
• Over 89% of U.S. counties don’t have an abortion provider, and it’s only getting worse.
• 29 states prohibit insurance plans from covering abortion for all or some residents (including private insurance).
• Low-income women are 5x as likely to face an unintended pregnancy.
• Over 50% of women who get an abortion have to spend at least 1/3 of their monthly income on the procedure and associated costs.
• 3/4 of women who get abortions site “concern about their responsibility to others” as a reason. 3/4 also say they can’t afford a child.
• 34 states + DC prohibit funding for abortions for low-income women on Medicaid. (The remaining states use state funds to help low-income women access abortions, with no federal help.)
• Other groups that are banned from getting abortion funding include Native Americans, disabled women on Medicare, peace corps, servicewomen in the military, veterans, federal employees, D.C. residents, and women in prison and immigration detention facilities. Some of these policies offer NO exception for rape, incest, or health of the mother.

None of this us changing anytime soon, and it’s often getting even worse. There are hundreds of thousands of women who don’t have time to wait for policies to shift or laws to change. They need help RIGHT NOW, and your donation helps lift one of the biggest, hardest-to-overcome barriers to abortion access: cost. 

Today, the Network includes over 100 abortion funds in more than 40 states, Canada, Mexico City, and the UK. Member abortion funds are independent, non-profit, grassroots organizations, many of which are run solely by volunteers. Each year, member funds raise and disperse over $3 million to help over 21,000 women and girls who would not otherwise be able to obtain abortions.

Join the fight, give some money, and make a real difference in someone's life in a super direct and meaningful way.

THANKSSSSSSS!!!! <3