Ash Orr is fundraising
Support the Women's Health Center of Maryland!
My name is Ash Orr (they/he), and I am a trans Appalachian organizer in West Virginia.
You may recognize my name from a previous fundraiser I launched last summer to raise $25,000 for abortion access in the name of Senator Mike Azinger, who made horrific remarks about Queer individuals, abortion patients, and called my story of childhood rape “pathetic”, after hearing my testimony on the Senate floor (read my story here).
Today, I stand proudly with our community as we celebrate the announcement of Women’s Health Center of Maryland opening in June 2023!
Women’s Health Center of Maryland will build on the nearly 50-year legacy of our friends at Women’s Health Center of West Virginia by providing quality, compassionate, patient-centered legal reproductive health care. As a trans Appalachian, I am especially grateful that they will be offering gender-affirming care to my community.
No matter how tough it gets, our community gets tougher. We will always dream of a world in which everyone can access the abortion care that they need - free from stigma, criminalization, and harassment. I’m aiming high and looking to raise $100,000 for Women’s Health Center of Maryland.
The Women’s Health Center has fought tirelessly to stand up for our community, and now, it's our turn to stand up for them.
WHC's Story
Last September, West Virginia lawmakers banned abortion, forcing West Virginians to travel for care and creating an “abortion care desert” that spans across central Appalachia. People that can get pregnant in West Virginia have been forced to take time off work, travel long distances out of state, and often pay for lodging and other accommodations to get basic healthcare.
This is a significant barrier and could be a death sentence for some patients.
Women’s Health Center of West Virginia is proud to announce that Women’s Health Center of Maryland, a new reproductive health clinic, will be opening in Cumberland, MD.
With the clinic being roughly 5 miles from the West Virginia border, people in Maryland, West Virginia, and beyond will have access to a full range of reproductive healthcare, including medication and procedural abortion, as well as gender-affirming hormone therapy! These services are monumental for our low income, LGBTQ+, and BIPOC community members.
Though Women’s Health Center of West Virginia no longer provides abortions, it remains open and provides a wide range of sexual and reproductive health care, such as birth control, HIV testing and prevention, gender-affirming hormone therapy, STI testing, and sexual wellness check-ups. Many patients depend on the Women’s Health Center for these services and will continue to receive them with high-quality care in an inclusive, welcoming environment.
Thousands depend on Women’s Health Center of West Virginia for free and affordable annual exams, contraception, cancer screenings, gender-affirming hormone care, pregnancy and parenting support, STI testing and treatment and more. And thousands throughout the region will depend on Women’s Health Center of Maryland for abortion care.
Your support is needed to help Women’s Health Center of West Virginia continue to show up for the community it has served for decades and ensure Women’s Health Center of Maryland will have a long legacy of providing compassionate, quality abortion care.
Can we count on your support?
*Please note: ALL donations are sent directly to WHC via GFM*
More information about Women's Health Center of West Virginia, Inc.: Women's Health Center of West Virginia (WHC) is a private, nonprofit health care facility that has provided high-quality reproductive health services for women of all incomes and ages since 1976. It is our mission to provide reproductive health care that respects a woman's choices. We are West Virginia's last remaining abortion provider.
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