As some states move to outlaw or restrict abortion access, some state and local governments have acted to use public money to help women in those states travel to get the procedure. In Republican-led states, city leaders in St. Louis, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio, have pledged to use public money to help women get abortions.
State lawmakers in Oregon — anticipating an abortion ban in neighboring Idaho — agreed to spend $15 million to help women seek abortions. So far, $1 million has gone to the Northwest Abortion Access Fund, a nonprofit that helps patients pay for travel and the procedure itself. The fund exhausted its planned operating budget this year and had to approve additional emergency funds amid growing demand for travel aid, according to Riley Keane, practical support lead for the group.
In California, some of the money could go to Access Reproductive Justice, the state’s only statewide abortion support fund. The group usually helps about 500 people per year get abortions, but director Jessica Pinckney said they’ve seen an increase since the U.S. Supreme Court decision. Recently, for the first time ever, Pinckney said the group in one week helped more women who lived in other states than they did from California.
“We’re definitely seeing an increase of Texans and Arizonians. We’re also starting to see folks coming from Louisiana, Alabama — much further than we would have even anticipated,” Pinckney said. “I still don’t necessarily think we have the full story of what things are going to look like now in this post-Roe era.”
