Dear friends,

Two and a half years ago, I stepped into the role of a lifetime. There was so much potential brewing. True abortion access felt real and closer, like the tide was finally turning. It’s painful to think about how quickly that spectre of progress dissipated and, in its place, we have witnessed a deepened gap between emboldened misogyny and racism and the promise of bodily autonomy and freedom for all.

Still, we are growing stronger and working harder to close that gap. At the National Network of Abortion Funds, our message is resounding: we will not be left behind. Our rights will not be sold out, our bodies will not be intimidated into submission, we will not be ignored. Because of you — the incredible network of donors, activists, volunteers, and staff members that make up our network — we continue to grow more powerful every day.

In these pages, we are proud to highlight the creative approaches we use to tackle entrenched problems and new challenges. Abortion rights have always been under attack, but with you on our side, we are disrupting the status quo by centering leadership development of people who have abortions, nurturing strong locally-rooted organizing, and building the culture and supports that make healthy, thriving abortion funds. We challenge the notion that direct service work is not political: in fact, ensuring that people have their basic needs met, including being able to make their own decisions around pregnancy, is central to creating a movement of resistance accessible to all of us.

Because of you, we’re building from a position of strength. Our network is already an extraordinary safety net for up to a hundred thousand people who call our help lines each year. With your support, we’ll provide more than abortion funding; we’ll make space for love, compassion, and dignity for our callers and our network members. We’ll push back against tired narratives about abortion that perpetuate systemic inequities and, instead, invite people to engage with us, forge connections with each other, and build the leadership to change the face of the abortion access movement.

Together, we are modeling what our political landscape should and will look like. Thank you for being part of this community. With your dollars and your belief in possibility, you are making it happen. Thank you for showing up for abortion funds. We couldn’t do it without you.

With love,

Yamani Hernandez
Executive Director

Download the newsletter pdf here! Highlights include:

New Fund Spotlight: Yellowhammer Fund

Our letter to the Democratic Party about anti-abortion politicians

Get to know an NNAF Donor & Member

Have you seen abortion funds in Marie Claire? (Featuring ARC-Southeast)
Purchase the September 2017 issue in stores!

Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Fund House

We Testify storyteller, Kayla,  sharing her abortion story