Beyond ‘Rage Giving’: AP Promotes the Need for ‘Abortion Funds’ to Pay for More Abortions

The Associated Press shares the grief of abortion advocates. AP philanthropy reporter Thalia Beaty offered a story headlined “Abortion funds feel frustration, gratitude at ‘rage giving’.” This is a result of news coverage, which often leads to a drop in donations.

Beaty began the story with Casie Pierce, the development director for a Dallas-based abortion fund, “which helps people pay for the procedure and associated logistics,” as she monitored the wave.

“Am I optimistic watching funds rolling in? Of course I am,” she said. “But what’s unfortunate is it takes a tragedy to wake people up out of their slumber to start giving, because we’ve been here doing this all along.”

Responding to the leaked May 2 draft, which indicated the possible withdrawal of legal rights to abortion in the U.S.A., donors clicked the donate buttons and sent out furious checks.

The National Network of Abortion Funds organized an annual fundraising event that raised over $2.4 million to support 90 abortion funds. This was more than any year before.

Beaty also had a conversation with Kelly Nelson from Tampa, the head of an abortion fund.

“We really want to make this a long-term thing where people recognize that The fight against the courts has ended now, and we won.” Nelson said. “We have to help the people on the ground today and tomorrow. We need to get them to their appointments.”

She added: “This is the time for philanthropy to get creative and reach out to abortion funds, who have traditionally been underfunded in the reproductive health world.”

A study of Philanthropic Donations by The National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy found that donations between 2015 and 2019 was significantly higher than the previous analysis. Of the $1.7 million that foundations donated to reproductive rights, only 3% was specifically designated for funding abortion. While 21 percent went to support other abortion-related activities, like advocacy and clinics,

Beaty was not done looking for studies by feminists who felt underfunded. 

Another analysis by The Bridgespan Group, a philanthropic consultancy, and Shake the Table, a feminist philanthropic advisory group, found that less than 1 percent of total foundation giving in 2017 went to women’s rights organizations around the world. The study also concluded that feminist funds could distribute 10x more philanthropic contributions than they currently do.

The only feint toward a pro-life point of view is Beaty used one paragraph to point out the pro-life side also benefited from emotional giving with the leaked opinion. The Supreme Court’s December signal of openness for new abortion restrictions saw funding increase in the groups that opposed abortion. The anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America plans to spend more on political campaigns this election cycle than ever before — $78 million.”