For Giving Tuesday, Consider Your Local Abortion Fund
By: Catherine “Cat” Poehling, MSc, MSW, LMSW
During the day, I am a Licensed Mental Health Practitioner running therapy groups. At the beginning of this month, I gave my clients a homework assignment that included a printed November calendar and these instructions: “Write down one thing you are grateful for every day this month.” Some groaned and griped, while others looked disinterested. I explained, “This could be the smallest of things — like a hot cup of coffee or something significant in your lives, but find one thing in your day that you are grateful for.”
Shortly after I gave my clients this assignment, Donald Trump was elected the President of the United States. It became challenging for me to find things to be thankful for. I’ve been angry, heartbroken, and scared at the thought of what the future might hold with Trump as my nation’s leader. But I remembered something to be grateful for: the people who work every day, usually unpaid, frequently unseen — to protect and preserve abortion access in this country. This year for Giving Tuesday, I hope you’ll consider giving to these organizations, in particular, the local abortion funds that connect those who need abortion care with financial support they need.
Now more than ever, we must support those who are in the front lines to ensure that each of us can get the care we need.
Currently, the Hyde Amendment, which bans insurance coverage for abortion for those enrolled in Medicaid, and similar policies, affect millions of people. This includes low-income women who get their health care through Medicaid, Medicare, and Children’s Insurance Program; Federal employees and their dependents; Peace Corps volunteers; Native Americans; women in federal prisons and detention centers, including those detained for immigration purposes; women who receive health care from community health centers; and survivors of human trafficking.
While some states provide Medicaid coverage using state funds, 35 states and DC deny a woman coverage for abortion just because she’s poor. A majority (60 percent) of women of reproductive age who are enrolled in Medicaid live in states without coverage.
My state, Louisiana, does not provide state funds to assist with the cost of abortion for our Medicaid enrollees, and further restricts private health insurance policies from covering abortion for residents and employers who would choose to pay for their own coverage. To make matters worse, new laws designed to shut down clinics and push abortion out of reach have created a crisis of abortion access across the South.
Targeted regulation of abortion providers, or TRAP laws, have been driving up the costs associated with abortion care by creating medically unnecessary burdens and requirements. Some of these include adhering to hospital grade standards regarding the size of their hallways and rooms, or requiring abortion providers to obtain admitting privileges to a hospital within 30 miles of the clinic, although in-clinic abortion is one of the safest outpatient procedures. It has been shown repeatedly that these requirements, created in the name of protecting women’s health and safety, do not have the effect anti-abortion politicians claim. Instead, TRAP laws close clinics that are not able to meet these arbitrary standards, and drive up the cost of the procedure. It also means that with fewer clinics, women must travel farther, and wait longer for appointments. All of this makes it harder for a woman to afford an abortion, multiplying the harms of the Hyde Amendment.
Abortion funds like the New Orleans Abortion Fund (NOAF), where I serve as Intake Coordinator, were created because members of the community recognized these undue burdens put on women and wanted to do something to ameliorate barriers to abortion access while creating a space to advocate for our communities. Since our founding in 2012 in response to increasing barriers to abortion access in South Louisiana, NOAF has challenged socioeconomic inequalities by providing financial assistance to women who cannot afford the full cost of an abortion.
While abortion funds like NOAF respect and support women’s decisions and provide help, not every organization operating in our communities has women’s best interests at heart.
Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPC’s), also known as “fake clinics,” prey on women all over the country. They market themselves as offering “pregnancy counseling” services, or even claim (falsely) that they offer abortions or abortion referrals. In reality, these are sham operations, often with no medical professionals on staff, that exist solely to trap women experiencing unwanted pregnancy and shame or trick them into continuing a pregnancy — often against their will. In the Greater New Orleans area, CPC’s outnumber legitimate abortion clinics 7 to 1.
With so many imposters in our communities, it’s important to know who is providing real help to those who need it. Every day, NOAF volunteers answer calls from women seeking financial aid to offset the costs of their procedure. Callers leave their information on a voicemail, and their calls are returned within 24 hours by a caring and competent volunteer. They conduct a financial needs screening, and then small grants from NOAF are sent directly to the caller’s clinic. Most NOAF callers are already mothers and identify as religious.
NOAF volunteers are skilled in active listening: their empathy and non-judgmental approach seek to empower NOAF callers to share their stories freely, knowing that they will be listened to. Volunteers receive in-depth training and peer mentoring to become aware of their own explicit and implicit biases, and an understanding of reproductive theoretical frameworks. Our volunteers have included nurses, teachers, lawyers, social workers, EMT’s, and college professors ranging greatly in age and background.
Whatever their background, and whatever the story they hear when they make that phone call, our volunteers never fail to treat each woman with respect, dignity, and compassion.
They are the most inspiring people I know.
As you think about where to giving this Giving Tuesday, please honor their contributions and the callers we fund and include NOAF or your local abortion fund in your giving.
