Friends:Four years ago this fall I sat down at my desk to write a letter just like this one.The 2016 presidential election results had been announced days earlier. I was feeling raw, angry, and mournful, and I didn’t try to hide those emotions. I outlined the restrictions to abortion access I thought we might see in the years to come, and how we would respond. That day in 2016, I reminded you, and myself, of my core belief: abortion funds and providers will be the ones who make abortion access truly possible. It’s the middle of October now, in the final weeks of another presidential election. I’m back at my desk, balancing the demands of my son’s remote school classes and my COVID puppy as I write to you again. I’m scenario-planning not only for the future of abortion access, but also for a future where a peaceful transfer of power post-election is not guaranteed.Much of what we feared might happen in the last four years, has: a new conservative majority in the Supreme Court, a flurry of laws restricting abortion at the state level. Some of what we’ve seen, I never would have predicted: a nationwide pandemic weaponized to deny pregnant people essential healthcare, white supremacists publicly praised by the sitting president. Speaking honestly again, no matter what happens in the weeks following November 3rd, we need to prepare for a future where access to abortion is even more limited than it is today.We have been preparing. We’re building lasting solutions, even as we’re forced to respond to moments of crisis:
- We developed Operation Scale Up (OSU), a visionary plan to staff up abortion funds. OSU will help funds meet the demand for financial and logistical support in a country that has long denied equitable access to abortion. The addition of two staff members at an abortion fund increases the number of callers a fund can support by 58%.
- We’ve invested in education and member-led policy work around abortion with pills, managed at home.
- We scaled up the internal systems that allow us to move money fast in a crisis. With your help, we distributed $3 million to abortion funds in the last year alone.
Most importantly, our network has been preparing for this moment for decades by consistently helping people access abortion, no matter what the obstacle. Abortion funds are ready to navigate an abortion access landscape post-Roe v. Wade, because in many states and for many people the protections promised by Roe never existed.I believe deeply in the ability of abortion funds to lead us to a future where abortion is truly accessible for all. At NNAF, we support that work by providing critical technical assistance, serving as a megaphone for fund and caller voices, and by moving millions of dollars to abortion funds every year. Your gift today is a statement of your belief that this network knows what to do in times of crisis.No matter what the next four years bring, you can be sure of one thing: this network will never stop fighting to ensure people seeking abortions get the resources and support they deserve. Together, we’ll prepare for whatever comes next.In solidarity,
Yamani Hernandez
Executive Director
National Network of Abortion Funds
PS: Part of the reason I know we can achieve this goal is because you are with us, adding your strength to this network. Please make your gift today.