Following the leak of Supreme Court decision, donations to U.S. abortion rights groups surge

Anti-abortion activists demonstrate at the U.S. Supreme Court Building on May 4 in Washington, D.C. ANNA MONEYMAKER/GETTY IMAGES

Since releasing a draft Supreme Court judgment showing the justices ready to overturn the 1973 landmark Roe v. Wade decision, donations have poured into abortion clinics and abortion-rights advocacy groups.

The draft judgment, which Politico published on Monday evening, prompted a giving frenzy among Americans for abortion clinics, charities that assist individuals in paying for abortions, and organizations dedicated to preserving abortion access.

Beneficiaries included big national organizations with substantial operating budgets and smaller, independently run clinics and regional organizations that are sometimes disregarded.

NARAL Pro-Choice America, a non-profit organization that raised $12.9 million in the fiscal year 2021, reported a 1,403 percent spike in donations in the 24 hours following the news's release, spokesperson Kristin Ford said. 51% of donors were making their first donation.

Almost 4,000 contributors contributed more than $100,000 to the Abortion Care Network, a nationwide organization of 150 independent abortion clinics in the United States, between Monday night and Wednesday afternoon. That was the largest surge of gifts the group had ever received in that period.

The funds will be distributed directly to clinics, enabling them to continue providing reproductive health care even if state laws ban them from performing abortions, according to the network's Executive Director Nikki Madsen.

"We will continue to fight for abortion access in the states," Madsen added. "In the interim, we need to keep those clinics open."

Both pro- and anti-abortion rights advocates said they would use the Supreme Court's impending verdict on abortion rights to organize voters for the 2022 midterm elections. Susan B. Anthony List and March for Life, two national anti-abortion organizations, did not immediately respond to requests for money.

Planned Parenthood and Emily's List, both pro-choice organizations, did not immediately respond.

The Roe Fund, an abortion organization in Oklahoma that provides funding to clinics to support patients' operations, received more than 8,000 donations totaling more than $50,000 on Tuesday, according to the fund's Treasurer, Janice Massey.

Oklahoma adopted a measure Tuesday night prohibiting abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, effectively closing practically all abortion clinics in the state.

"This is without a doubt the largest increase in donations in the 13 years I've been doing this work," Massey said.

Since Monday night, the Kentucky Health Justice Network, another abortion fund, has received over 1,000 gifts averaging $50 in value, Operations Director Ashley Jacobs said. When a Kentucky law temporarily stopped in-state abortion services in April, the network supported patients seeking abortions in Ohio and Indiana.

Donors also made contributions to organizations in places that may witness an increase in the number of patients seeking abortions due to local laws protecting abortion rights.

The DC Abortion Fund received more than $105,000 in donations between Monday night and Wednesday morning, publicist Devin Simpson said. The fund finances abortions in the nation's capital and Virginia and Maryland.

Publish : 2022-05-05 07:58:00

Give Your Comments