Editor’s Note: The DC Abortion Fund Board of Directors drafted the statement below, urging Mayor Bowser and the DC Council to work quickly to make cash assistance available to those who are unable to access federal assistance or unemployment benefits.

We call on Mayor Bowser and the DC Council to make cash assistance available to the tens of thousands of District residents who will not be able to access federal assistance or unemployment benefits, including undocumented immigrants, sex workers, street vendors, and others who are a key part of our community and who deserve to be protected.

DC residents who most urgently need cash assistance are disproportionately Black and brown people with low incomes. Unfortunately, pervasive discrimination in employment, health care, education, housing, and adjusting one’s immigration status has led to many DC residents needing to seek income from excluded areas of work under the new program. “Excluded workers” from the cash assistance program are not only the ones who encounter the brunt of systemic discrimination, but also who bear the brunt of the health and economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic itself. While we recognize that the District is not the sole responder, it is a necessity that the labor of all of our residents is valued and recognized by both local and federal governments. 

Prior to the COVID-19 national emergency, these communities already experienced systemic barriers to economic stability. DCAF’s callers face a myriad of obstacles when it comes to accessing the care they need, especially our callers whose livelihood falls under “excluded” categories. Since the pandemic began, we have heard firsthand accounts from our callers and volunteers about the additional barriers to abortion access they face, such as added logistical barriers like the lack of transportation and child care, and economic barriers such as a reduction in income or job loss. Cash assistance will allow our callers to meet their basic needs, including access to abortion care.

DCAF stands with the District’s “excluded” workers. During this unprecedented pandemic, it is more important than ever that people can keep themselves safe and healthy and are given what they need to survive. We feel strongly that investing in our community is what we need to navigate and eventually emerge from these trying times with strength and resilience. 

We urge Mayor Bowser and the DC Council to work quickly to make cash assistance available to those who are unable to access federal assistance or unemployment benefits in order to promote the health and wellbeing of everyone in our community so that all DC residents can meet their basic needs.

AT THIS TIME ALL CLINICS IN THE DC AREA ARE OPEN. WE WILL UPDATE IF THAT CHANGES.

It’s more important than ever for us to all take care of each other. DC Abortion Fund is holding our community close at this time (even if we are not physically together) and we are here for you. 

We are thinking especially of those who are multiply marginalized — people of color, families with lower incomes, service industry workers, health care workers, small business owners, undocumented people, people with disabilities, people with chronic or high-risk health conditions, and people experiencing homelessness — as we navigate this global pandemic.

Here are some resources we pulled together that we hope are helpful. It will continue to be updated as the situation is still evolving.

For People Seeking Abortions

Our lines are still open. Call DCAF’s free, confidential helpline at (202) 452-7464 and leave a voicemail for our case managers. Include your name and phone number, how many weeks pregnant you are, the date of your doctor’s appointment, and whether or not it is okay for us to leave you a voicemail. To help keep your information safer, we cannot assist with funding via email.

If you are calling on behalf of someone who is pregnant, please follow the same instructions and let us know your relationship to that person.

A volunteer will return your call shortly. Our volunteers can help you estimate how much your procedure will cost, and provide detailed financial counseling to assess your financial need and funding options. After a case manager determines that you are eligible for DCAF funds, they can pledge funding assistance accordingly.

We strongly suggest you contact the clinic on the day of any office visit, prior to coming to the site. If there is a closure, the clinic should inform you, but it is always best to double-check before you travel. If you feel ill, contact your clinic to ask for advice about how to move forward. 

At the clinic, try to keep your distance from other patients whenever possible. If you can, leave 6 feet of space between you and other patients and staff. 

For People Wanting to Support DC Abortion Fund

Throughout this pandemic, one thing remains the same: people will continue to need abortions.

We still need your support to make sure people can get seen as quickly and as safely as possible. 

If you’re in a position to fundraise or donate, we encourage you to sign up to raise money during Fund-a-Thon, our annual peer-to-peer fundraiser.

We understand how weird and maybe even uncomfortable it might feel to ask people for money at this time. People are losing their jobs at an unprecedented rate, and there are a lot of things on everyone’s mind other than fundraising. 

But with more people struggling economically and travel across state lines becoming more challenging, your help is especially critical to ensure people calling our helpline are able to access the abortion care they need. 

We have tips and talking points you can use if you choose to fundraise at this time, and we’ll share more ideas and support in the coming weeks. We’ll also continue to evaluate our plans in light of the changing situation.

If you are unable to fundraise or give at this time, you can still help by sharing information about DCAF and our Fund-a-Thon campaign via email and social media (see page three of our toolkit).

Helpful Resources

• Official updates about coronavirus from the CDC
• Official updates from DC government agencies
• Official updates from Virginia government agencies
• Official updates from Maryland government agencies
• Guide to DC unemployment and filing for unemployment
• Resources for Domestic Violence Survivors
• Resources for free or low-cost meals and groceries
• ONE FAIR WAGE — Emergency Coronavirus Tipped and Service Worker Support Fund
• Healthcare resources for undocumented folks
• COVID-19 Resources for Undocumented Workers in Washington, DC

We are in unprecedented times, and our hearts go out to everyone right now.

Many of us are processing feelings of fear, isolation, confusion, anger, and sadness.

We are thinking especially of those who are multiply marginalized — people of color, families with lower incomes, service industry workers, health care workers, small business owners, undocumented people, people with disabilities, people with chronic or high-risk health conditions, and people experiencing homelessness — as we navigate this global pandemic.

But one thing remains the same: throughout this pandemic, people will continue to need abortions.

At DC Abortion Fund, we have been practicing responsible social distancing, and our work is mostly done by volunteers remotely, so not too much has changed in our day-to-day operations because of COVID-19. We will continue to monitor the situation, act in the best interest of our callers and follow the lead of our partner clinics, and follow any relevant CDC guidance.

For now, we still need your support to make sure people can get seen as quickly and as safely as possible.

If you’re in a position to fundraise or donate, we encourage you to sign up to raise money during Fund-a-Thon, our annual peer-to-peer fundraiser.

We don’t need to tell you how many state and national restrictions we face these days — designed specifically to deny access to abortion, especially for people of color and people with lower incomes.

And now, with more people struggling economically and travel across state lines becoming more challenging, your help is especially critical to ensure people calling our helpline are able to access the abortion care they need.

If you are able, please create an online fundraising page and commit to raising as much money as you can by asking your friends and family to donate. (We are working on messaging that you can use in this difficult time.)

As we practice social distancing to limit the spread of the coronavirus, it’s more important than ever for us to take care of each other.

Editor’s Note: Here at DCAF, we believe everyone should have access to a full range of reproductive health care, and that includes abortion. When people have the freedom to make decisions that are best for themselves and their families, our communities thrive. On December 19, we expressed our support for the Strengthening Reproductive Health Protections Amendment Act of 2019 at a hearing with partner organizations. Below is the statement presented by DCAF’s president, Deepika Srivastava.

Chairman Todd, members of the Committee, my name is Dee Srivastava and I am President of the DC Abortion Fund. I have been a DC resident for nearly a decade, and am proud to call Ward 1 my home. Today, I am here to speak out in support of the Strengthening Reproductive Health Protections Amendment Act of 2019. Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this important issue.

The DC Abortion Fund, or DCAF, is a DC-based 501c(3) that provides about $400,000 annually in financial assistance to people seeking abortion care in the District, Maryland, and Virginia. We also provide referrals to clinics and other resources. In addition to providing financial support and referrals to patients who need abortion care, DCAF also has volunteer-led policy and movement building teams that weigh in on critical legislation like this, to not only bolster our partnerships in the area, but also to advocate for policies that put the needs of our callers first and protect their access to comprehensive reproductive health care. 

The DC Abortion Fund is the only local abortion fund serving residents of the District of Columbia. Last year, we screened about 1300 calls from District residents alone — calls from people who cannot afford their abortion largely due to systemic inequities. We commit to meeting our callers where they are, working with them to close their financial gaps, being an empathetic resource, and doing whatever it is we can to get people to their appointments. We have been serving the District and its residents for nearly 25 years, partnering with the city’s incredible abortion providers at Planned Parenthood, independent clinics, and hospitals. 

As introduced, this legislation would prohibit the District government from interfering with people’s reproductive health decisions and from imposing punitive measures for self-managed abortion, miscarriage, or other pregnancy outcomes. It would also prohibit employment discrimination against employees and healthcare professionals who would participate in abortion or sterilization procedures. In a world where the social and political climate around abortion care gets ever more hostile, proactive legislation like this is one of the most important ways to affirm that DC residents deserve the right to access abortion, and that no matter what happens, we are committed to protecting that right. 

As DC’s local abortion fund, we have seen, firsthand, over and over, what restrictions on DC’s representation and budget autonomy have done to patient access here — including the Dornan Amendment, which renders the District unable to use its own locally raised dollars to cover abortion care for its low-income residents. While this bill won’t be able to do everything that is needed to attain equitable abortion access for all DC residents, it is a key step in the right direction. As we approach the dismantling of abortion access at all levels and branches of government, and live in a world where DC and its residents face a lack of statehood, home rule, and budget autonomy, that step couldn’t come soon enough. 

At their core, restrictions on abortion access — whether they’re outright bans on abortion or harmful regulations that lead to clinic closures or the impeding of funds to cover the cost of abortion care– are a form of oppression rooted in power imbalance and exerting control over the autonomy and well-being of people seeking health care. They disproportionately impact communities of color, exacerbating the already-rampant systemic racism in the health care system. They diminish the autonomy and safety largely of our Black, immigrant, LGBTQ, and low-income residents, and those who sit at these intersections. 

DCAF is testifying in favor of this legislation because we believe that everyone in DC should be able to access abortion, without burdensome and medically unnecessary restrictions. Organizations like DCAF need to exist because there is a health system that is stacked against our callers, forcing them to jump through hoop after hoop when they should have timely, affordable access to health care. We believe that District residents deserve a health care system that is better than the one we have, where one’s acute access to care is shifted based on where they live and what’s in their wallet, due to differing levels of support and investment in things like access to child care, public transportation, and, of course, funding. We believe no one should fear punishment for a pregnancy outcome or for accessing reproductive health care, because we talk to those who would be most impacted by such punitive measures — people with low incomes and people of color, particularly Black and brown communities. We can and must do better as a society than criminalizing and ostracizing people who seek an abortion. Too often we fail people in this regard, and too often anti-abortion advocates legislate away bodily autonomy for people with low incomes, Black and brown people, queer people, and others who live at the margins. 

Abortion funds have to exist because the health system marginalizes abortion care and those who seek it. Often, our opponents justify attacks on abortion access with concepts like safety, compassion, and humanity, but we should be exposing this for what it is — control and manipulation. Safety, compassion, and humanity are important to us, too — but stoking people’s fear with medically inaccurate information or forcibly imposing one’s personal religious beliefs is not how you ensure the safety and wellbeing of all people — protecting and promoting access to compassionate, affirming, person-centered care is. Our commitment to these values is why DCAF supports people seeking abortion from all walks of life. We provide compassionate case management and strive for the transparency, empathy, and resources that our callers deserve as they are navigating a health system that is constantly putting care out of reach. We work with health care providers who have high medical standards, and who value and provide patient-centered health care. 

Our callers, and others seeking abortion care, should have the right to autonomy and control in their health and their lives, and we as a community need to be doing more to affirm that right. We need to trust them to make the best decisions for themselves, and to take these rights seriously. By passing this legislation, we can say firmly that we won’t stand for outdated and nonsense laws and policies that jeopardize the public’s health, legislate away bodily autonomy, and endanger communities. We know that the ability to make autonomous decisions about health care helps communities thrive. We strongly encourage the Council to support the Strengthening Reproductive Health Protections Amendment Act.

Our Movement Building Director was featured last week in Rewire, talking about DC statehood and its connection to abortion access.

The bottom line: “Abortion access should not be restricted by partisan wins and losses. And the fight for statehood should not be restricted to DC residents…It is imperative that we see DC statehood as not only a fight for budgetary autonomy and Congressional representation, but as part of the fight for bodily autonomy, generally, and abortion, specifically.

You can view the article in its entirety.

Reproductive justice is a human rights framework created by a group of visionary Black women in 1994, who referred to themselves as “Women of African Descent for Reproductive Justice.” Reproductive justice defines “the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities.” Unlike frameworks which center “choice” in discussions of reproductive issues, reproductive justice centers access, interrogating the power structures that oppress marginalized people and further deprive them of that access. Gender, race, and class economics all affect that analysis.

For decades, reproductive issues—abortion access, paid parental leave, birth control coverage—have been sidelined in politics as “women’s issues” and discussed in isolation. This has been done intentionally by those who oppose reproductive justice, and indirectly, by feminist groups who fail to use an intersectional lens. Firstly, the term “women’s issues” is cisnormative: women and people who can get pregnant are a Venn diagram—overlapping, but not the same category. And this framing also minimizes reproductive justice as a “social issue” which is supposedly disconnected from and less important than economic issues.

Because reproductive justice is rooted in the belief that individuals and communities should have the resources and power needed to make their own decisions about their families, bodies, and lives, reproductive justice requires (among other things), economic power. Having or not having a child is one of the largest economic changes in a person’s life. As of 2015, in the United States, the lifetime cost of having one child is nearly a quarter of a million dollars, making it one of the most costly life expenses possible. If you have a child, when you have children, and how many children you have are some of the biggest economic forks in the road of someone’s life. This isn’t necessary, or accidental: our privatized health care system ensures that pre-natal care, birth, and delivery are extremely expensive. And that’s before you get to the costs associated with childcare and education.

But the financial implications of pregnancy, childbirth and parenthood represent isn’t the whole story. Not everyone has the privilege to make those financial and/or reproductive decisions freely—unlike frameworks of “choice, reproductive justice acknowledges that reproduction is deeply linked with issues of class and socioeconomic inequity. Every reproductive issue, from access to birth control to the ability to raise a child safely, is heavily influenced (if not outright determined) by socioeconomic status. The same decision—to seek abortion services, for example—looks completely different to a wealthy person than to someone with much less money. A poor person is less likely to be able to take time off work, afford transportation to a clinic, pay for childcare during the procedure, and have health care coverage — and all of these come into play before figuring out how to pay for the abortion itself. 

Of course, health insurance coverage is defined by economics (and race) as well. In DC, “[n]early 1 in 7 Hispanic residents (13.5%) have no health insurance compared with 1 in 15 (11.8%) Black residents, and 1 in 30 (3.5%) White residents.” As for the little over 35% of DC residents who have public coverage, a majority are women and people of color, and are explicitly barred from abortion coverage by the Hyde amendment. These layers and layers of oppression come together to compound the inequities that reproductive justice intends to eradicate.

Additionally, in many areas in the U.S. where poverty is concentrated, those costs are exacerbated by anti-choice laws, like those that mandate waiting periods (requiring another visit to the clinic) or trans-vaginal ultrasounds (another procedure to pay for). Reproductive issues can’t be separated from economic ones.

As the reproductive justice framework states, reproductive issues and economics are inextricably connected. Socioeconomic status—as intensified by race, gender, and other identity factors—determines one’s ability to make reproductive choices with the freedom and autonomy everyone deserves. And not having the financial freedom to make decisions about birth control, abortion and parenthood in turn affects one’s finances, further trapping people in poverty. The reproductive justice framework sees, and seeks to dismantle, the entire interconnected system of oppression—not discuss one issue as though it exists in isolation.

– by volunteer Kate. This reflects the views of the author.

A few months ago, we were disgusted and appalled to read Candice Russell’s story where she described sexual misconduct by Dr. Willie Parker. 

We believe Candice Russell and extend our support and solidarity to all survivors — whether they choose to share their stories publicly or not. 

As an abortion access organization striving to embody reproductive justice, we at DCAF believe that justice, care, and autonomy for survivors and safe environments for all are key components of actualizing reproductive justice. We feel strongly that it is up to our movement to embody the world that we want– where everyone is safe, supported, and cared for in the way that they feel is best for them. 

Everyone deserves an environment free of discrimination and harassment. Reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations and progressive spaces must be the leaders in the fight against harassment — and too often they fall short.

The National Network of Abortion Funds wrote this in their statement responding to the allegations:

“Every person in the abortion access movement holds responsibility for fostering an ethical environment, free from harassment, violence, and improper or unprofessional conduct, sexual and otherwise. We all hold this responsibility, whether we are an abortion funder, provider, volunteer, employee, or supporter. When one of us is accused of failing to live up to these standards, it is all of our responsibility to make space for victims to speak or be silent as they choose, and with values of autonomy, compassion, intersectionality, and collective power, move through accountability and restorative justice towards healing.”

We want to take this opportunity to lift up the incredible work that Candice Russell has brought to the movement. A powerful abortion storyteller with We Testify and board member of the NARAL Pro-Choice Texas, she has worked to bust abortion stigma. We thank her for her bravery in speaking truth to power.

-The DC Abortion Fund Board of Directors

Last week was a rough one for many of us. But abortion funds across the country still here, and we’re not going anywhere. In spite of the unconstitutional and unjust bans being rolled out, abortion is still legal in all 50 states. But legal is not accessible. And at DCAF, we work hard every day to help people access the abortion care they need, regardless of what’s in their wallets or where they live. We’re committed to the fights ahead.

You’ve probably seen a lot of articles and Facebook posts floating around about what you can do to help patients in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Ohio, Louisiana, South Carolina, and other states who are considering or have passed restrictive abortion bans.

Here are some ideas:

Donate to a regional fund. Here are some:

• Yellowhammer Fund
• New Orleans Abortion Fund
• Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Fund
• Access Reproductive Care – Southeast
• Preterm Access Fund
• Gateway Women’s Access Fund
• Women Have Options
  

Sign up to volunteer with your local fund. Whether that’s DCAF or a fund in another state or region, we’ll need to work together to make sure patients get the funds they need for abortion care.

Donate to your local abortion fund. Better yet, become a monthly donor to support their work year round. Abortion funds in areas where folks can still access this essential health care service will face a higher demand for their services as people travel further distances to get the care they need and deserve. We’ve already seen this trend at DCAF.

Share your abortion story. Viral campaigns like #YouKnowMe on social media, or more organization-specific storytelling efforts like DCAF’s are a great way to destigmatize abortion and highlight what we know: 1 in 4 women have abortions, and not only women need access to abortion services.

Study up on what’s next and deepen your own political commitment. Stay up on the news, learn more about reproductive justice and the fight for abortion rights and access by checking out Radical Reproductive Justice or Handbook for a Post-Roe America.

We do not know what the future holds, but we do know this: We need to take care of ourselves, and we need to take care of each other. We have work to do.