In 2024, DCAF kept shattering records.

but unlike the summer Olympics, we can’t always rejoice when one of our records gets broken.

In 2024, the DC Abortion Fund experienced all-time highs of calls fielded, abortions funded, and—it physically hurts to write this—the most days our lines were closed due to a lack of funds.

Our love letter to our radically-supportive community.

The exponential strain placed on abortion funds bordering red states is a direct result of abortion bans. Today, 41 states have abortion bans in effect, 14 of which have a total ban and the remaining 27 banning abortion at a certain gestational age. This places the number of states where abortion remains legal—at any stage of pregnancy—in the single digits. And while DC proudly remains an abortion safe haven—no parental consent laws, no gestational age limits, no bans on telehealth, no subpoenaing our doctors from other states—without statehood, abortion access in DC can never be guaranteed.

We know the insurmountable fight we’re up against. But we also know our DC neighbors have, and always will be, unstoppable when it comes to protecting abortion access. We are a community who has always rallied behind bodily autonomy, even when stacked against impossible odds.

Even when faced with budget restrictions and an ever-changing landscape, you helped nearly 3,000 people access abortion this year. On our toughest days, that number deserves to be celebrated.

To our DC neighbors: We love you. We appreciate you. Thank you for always rallying behind us.

XO, DCAF

Wins for the year

How we celebrated bodily autonomy all year long.

About our data

FY 2024 by the numbers.

The DC Abortion Fund analyzed data taken from our warm lines over the past fiscal year, from July 2023 to June 2024. Below, we cite third-party resources to tell a broader story. Any statistic without a hyperlink is sourced from our own, raw data.

Special thanks to our data connoisseur, Francisco Brady, for all his work in aggregating our data.

The DC Abortion Fund fielded 7,060 calls in 2024.

That’s 1,079 more calls than in 2023, when many abortion bans took effect. Translation: In a single year, inbound calls for those seeking abortion care spiked 18%. Our case managers are working relentlessly, fielding an all-time high of 629 unique calls in June 2024 alone.

Total calls fielded by DCAF

You helped raise a staggering $1,555,440 to fund abortion.

Our average pledge was $529.

Or, roughly, enough to cover the cost of a first-trimester abortion.

We helped 2,939 people access abortion.

Helping people from 21 states, in all three trimesters of care, with pledges topping $10,000.

We supported 100 people per week access abortion care.

Translation: The highest number of callers aided in recent history (both pre- and post-Dobbs).

We spent $40,000 every week on abortion care.

Which, if we continue at this rate, would result in a $400,000 pledge gap by the end of this fiscal year.

WHAT WE NEED

We need $1 million each month to fully fund each caller.

Total expected abortion costs per month, topping off at $1,053,784 in June 2024.

$500,000

The minimum amount we need each month to fund every caller.

$779,750

The average amount we need each month to fund every caller.

VERSUS WHAT WE PLEDGED

And yet, we could only cover $1.5 million for the year.

To fully fund every procedure, for every caller, we needed $9,357,007. And yet, we were only able to pledge $1,555,440. Yes, raising $1.5M for abortion access is an incredible feat—but it’s only 16% of what was needed.

Total expected abortion costs versus what we were able to pledge per month.

$877,013

Our largest funding gap in a single month (June 2024).

$127,218

The average amount we pledged each month.

A lack of abortion access continues to disproportionately impact those from marginalized communities.

FACT: IF YOU MAKE MORE THAN $15,060

You’re “too rich” to get funding from a national organization.

While Planned Parenthood and NAF (the National Abortion Federation) do not publicly disclose income requirements, we do know callers must be significantly below the federal poverty level ($15,060) to receive funding. 


In 2024, 70% of our callers meet this threshold—even in a city where the cost of living is 53% higher than the national average. These people are often unhoused, minors, experiencing job or food insecurity, and/or unemployed. Translation: While a $300–$500 funding gap might not seem like much to our donors, it could be a caller’s entire salary for the month. And in DC, there’s no fallback plan, as the Hyde and Dornan Amendment prevents us from using federal dollars and our own medicaid dollars to fund abortion.

CALLER DEMOGRAPHICS

How abortion access disproportionately impacts Black and Brown communities.

While over half of callers chose not to share their backgrounds, the overwhelming majority of reporting callers come from Black and Brown communities.

Racial demographics of total reported callers to DCAF. Note: 56.75% of callers chose not to report their racial identity.

75–80% of callers

Fall below the federal poverty line, making less than $15,060 per year.

71% of reporting callers

Are Black, while 11.3% are Hispanic/Latino and 12.3% are White.

The Southeast depends on DC to get the care they need, but can’t access in their home state.

Washington, DC is now the only region in the entire Mid Atlantic with zero abortion restrictions. Abortion seekers are now traveling up to 17 hours to access the care they need.

CALLERS FROM THE SOUTH

And while DC will always open its arms to those seeking abortion refuge, we’re *barely* able to keep our lines open.

IN JUNE

Calls from Florida spiked 225%.

One month after Florida’s six-week ban went into effect.

IN NOVEMBER

Calls from Georgia skyrocketed 325%.

Just one week after the Georgia Supreme Court allowed the six-week ban to remain in effect, causing a lack of appointments.

IN FEBRUARY

Calls from North Carolina soared 450%.

After the Florida Supreme Court heard arguments about the six-week ban, leading to panic and confusion across the state.

IN NOVEMBER

Calls from South Carolina spiked to a horrifying 1100%.

Three months after the South Carolina Supreme Court upheld a six-week ban.

WHY ROE NEVER GUARANTEED ACCESS

WTF is up with Pennsylvania, anyway?

Abortion is legal in Pennsylvania up to 24 weeks in pregnancy, so why is DCAF experiencing such an influx in PA callers? The answer: Access.

The state of Pennsylvania went from having 100+ abortion clinics to 20 in a relatively short amount of time, so it’s nearly impossible to get an appointment. The lesson? Roe never guaranteed abortion access, and Republicans will use every trick in their playbook (like shuttering clinics) to prevent people from getting the care they need.

300%

The increase in callers DCAF received from FY 2023 to FY 2024.

The number of calls received by DCAF from PA in the past year.

108

The number of abortion clinics that closed their doors in PA in recent years.

80+

We confirmed, yet again, that
abortion laws are built on abortion lies.

Callers from blue states accessed abortions earlier in pregnancy than callers from red states.

(like, NINE weeks earlier.)

For decades, anti-abortion Republicans have built their entire argument on demonizing third trimester abortions. While there is very little national data on abortion seekers, the CDC estimates just 1% of pregnancies take place after 21 weeks (in the second trimester).Yet, Republicans continue to write their own dictionary of bogus phrases meant to stigmatize abortion care (read: “late term abortion” and “post-birth abortion” are illegitimate phrases built on zero data). 

But here’s what our data shows: Callers from red states are having abortions far later in pregnancy than states where abortion remains legal.

10.76 weeks

The average gestational age for callers inside the DC region where abortion remains legal, without restrictions.

19.52 weeks

The average gestational age for callers outside the DC region, where abortion is illegal, criminalized, and/or stigmatized.

81.41%

The percent increase of a caller’s gestational age when seeking an abortion outside the DC region, versus inside the region.

In the DC region, the overwhelming majority of callers are at a gestational age under 20 weeks.

Outside of the DC region, callers are evenly-split between under 20 weeks and over 20 weeks.

The number of callers inside the DMV at a gestational age under 20 weeks, compared to those over 20 weeks.

88%

The percentage of callers inside the DC region at a gestational age under 20 weeks.

44%

The percentage of callers outside the DC region at a gestational age under 20 weeks.

caller wait times

We bust our a$$es to get callers funding in just 6.43 days.

The faster we close a funding gap, the earlier a caller gets the care they need—greatly decreasing the risks and costs of care. We pride ourselves on scraping together funding in one week or less, with the average time between intake call and appointment being just 6.43 days.

Our case managers get incredibly creative when closing funding gaps (up to $19k!), implementing the following strategies:

Adjusting our weekly budgets

Operating on a monthly model

Social and email campaigns

Cost-sharing with other funds

Non-stop avocating for callers

Calling sibling funds

Launching emergency campaigns

Solidarity funding and mutual aid

Applying for clinic discounts

legal abortions = earlier abortions

How legalizing abortion helps people have
abortions earlier in pregnancy.

No matter what conservative legislators want voters to believe, abortion bans force people to have abortions later—not earlier—in pregnancy. Here’s why:

Abortion bans force people to seek care in other states, adding on time for travel, hotel accommodations, and booking appointments.

Abortion bans place an undue burden on abortion clinics bordering red states, making it more difficult to get an appointment.

States with abortion bans often implement mandatory waiting periods, requiring multiple appointments set over 2–3 days.

Abortion ban laws are often ambiguous, forcing people to weed through confusing rhetoric before understanding their options.

Anti-abortion activists often resort to stalking, blocking traffic, and harassing patients and abortion clinic staff.

The faster people receive abortion care, the more affordable their appointment.

The more affordable the appointment, the more people we can support.

And yet, for the first time ever,

DCAF routinely had to close our lines on Tuesday each week due to a lack of funds.

WE’LL BE HONEST WITH YOU

We’re burning through $40,000 per week helping people in the DMV and across the nation access abortion.

Rather than keep our lines open five days a week, we’ve been forced to close Tuesday night because we ran out of funds. The result? Callers are forced to wait until Monday the following week to speak to a case manager—pushing them further into pregnancy.

What’s more: In June, the National Abortion Federation and Planned Parenthood decreased their pledge from 50% to just 30% of care—increasing the burden placed on local abortion funds, like DCAF.

WHAT SETS US APART

How DC continues to support thousands of abortion seekers in DC and across the country.

We follow a weekly budget (not monthly).

Many funds operate on a monthly budget—often running out of funds four days in, unable to help callers for the remaining 3+ weeks. A weekly model allows us to support callers throughout the month. Even if we close our lines on Wednesday, callers only need to wait until Monday to speak to a case manager.

Our level of collaboration is unmatched.

We work behind the scenes, calling other funds to scrape together enough money to close five-digit pledge gaps. We reach out to sibling funds to raise funds (up to $20,000+!) in a short amount of time, so callers only need to wait an average of one week to get the care they need.

DC offers three clinics with third-trimester care.

We’re part of a wonderful ecosystem of abortion access, with DC serving as an abortion safe haven in the Southeast. Along with premier doctors, legal abortion, and a supportive community, we have three clinics who offer abortion care at any stage in pregnancy.

We have three, full-time expert case managers on staff.

Our case managers double as patient navigators, understanding the abortion access landscape on a granular level. We have 30 + volunteers, many of whom have been with us three-plus years, sharing intel on laws, restrictions, fund bottlenecks, abortion clinics, and how to raise money fast.

If we continue spending $40,000 monthly, we will fall nearly half a million dollars short by year end. Will you help us close that gap?

You proved that no matter who threatens abortion access—the Supreme Court, states within driving distance, and legislators who threaten DC home rule—we will continue to fund abortion for those who need it. Even when things seem dire, this community always pulls through.

DC, thank you for all you do. Let’s continue breaking down abortion barriers in 2025.

XO, DCAF