Help Create An Abortion Fund In South Carolina

With the current Supreme Court signaling they may overturn Roe v. Wade and escalating attacks on reproductive rights in Southern states, the time to organize to protect abortion is now. It is a matter of when, not if, South Carolina Republicans use their supermajorities in both houses of the General Assembly, as well as their control of the governor’s office, to pass laws restricting or outright banning abortion.

Currently, South Carolina has no abortion fund resident to the state. Why does SC need a local abortion fund? Even while legally available, the costs and time restrictions of obtaining an abortion can be extremely prohibitive. A recent study showed that 61% of Americans could not handle an unexpected $1000 emergency. With the existence of only three clinics in the state that specialize in abortion, a required 24-hour waiting period before obtaining an abortion, and bans on public funding, as well as many types of insurance plans from covering abortion, the deck is already stacked against South Carolinians.

Although some regional and national funds cover fund requests in SC, the closest fund is nearly 200 miles away, which undoubtedly limits their ability to connect with local communities. If abortion is restricted or outright banned in SC, people will have to travel to another state in order to obtain one, further increasing travel costs, and potentially putting a strain on currently existing funds.

We’re currently asking for a modest sum of $2000. This will be used to cover administrative expenses related to incorporating, obtaining tax exemption, opening a bank account with a satisfactory minimum balance, joining the National Network of Abortion Funds, and any other unforeseen administrative expenses. Any money we’ve already raised through our other funding channels has been reserved to directly benefit our clients. No one on our board is taking a salary, and any funds raised beyond our initial expenses will be put into the fund itself.

SC’s government has spent far more effort making abortion costly and hard to access than it has to improve the safety and conditions of childbirth, childcare, or childhood. To highlight just one alarming statistic, the average maternal death rate associated with having a child in SC is at least 40 times that of having an abortion.

Please help us do what our government refuses and fund vital and necessary healthcare for South Carolinians. After all, abortion is healthcare, and healthcare is a human right.