On June 24, 2022, the United State Supreme Court ruled that there is no Constitutional protection for abortion care in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, effectively turning back the clock on a core gender justice safeguard in the United States.
While we reflect on the enormous loss at the one-year anniversary of that Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, we are reminded of what many activists have called out: “Roe was never enough.” Roe only offered the bare minimum in terms abortion access—with structural barriers such as the Hyde Amendment, systemic racism, and economic inequities preventing many folks from receiving the abortion care they deserve. The Dobbs decision has intensified the unacceptable inequities that already existed. Since the Supreme Court decision, abortion is either wholly unavailable or extremely restricted for nearly one third (29%) of the United States’ total population of cis women within reproductive age. In the first 100 days after the Dobbs decision, at least 66 clinics across 15 states ceased abortion care, and as of January 2023, abortion has been banned in 12 states with very limited exceptions and is unavailable in an additional two.
In the face of enormous threat, The New York Women’s Foundation has responded with bold investments in the past year, doubling down on our efforts to not only win back abortion access to pre-Dobbs level, but also expand it radically for those who were always excluded from equitable and quality access. With funding and capacity building support from The Foundation, grantee partners were able to make significant local and national impact in the wake of the Dobbs decision:
Aligned with our practice of trust-based philanthropy, we provided general operating, and in some cases multi-year, grants to organizations such as Liberate Abortion, the New York Abortion Access Fund, If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice, and Pregnancy Justice. We also helped build capacity through values-aligned technical assistance opportunities, including operational areas such as strategic communications and fundraising. Beyond the infrastructure support, we have also recognized the severe grief and fatigue many movement leaders are holding and offer funds for collective healing and restorative spaces for groups that need it.
As we continue collaborating with grantee partners and advocates to ensure our communities regain and deepen abortion access, we heed the urgent call to expand rather than restrict our notions of reproductive justice and freedom. LGBTQ+ advocates have warned the reproductive justice community and funders that the framing of abortion as solely a “women’s issue” furthers the access challenges that gender-expansive and trans people face when seeking abortion care. We also hear their challenge to prioritize resourcing other historically marginalized communities in this struggle, including Black, undocumented, and disabled movement leaders, and are reflecting on how we can lean deeper into that invitation.
Coming upon yet another crucial election year, we must boldly claim abortion justice as just one part of a spectrum of reproductive justice priorities by proudly defending and funding efforts ranging from affordable and well-compensated doulas, to gender-affirming care, to divesting from racially biased family separation. This also means continuing our investments in protecting and expanding our democracy to increase women’s civic engagement and elect representatives who are with us in the fight for gender, racial, and economic justice.
Furthermore, we recognize that the Dobbs decision has been accompanied by a variety of other attacks and plans to restrict bodily autonomy, trans rights, gender-affirming healthcare, and marriage equality. Our investments and strategies must move with intention to support the broader ecosystem that is so deeply connected. These struggles are not isolated, and our strategies and funds must reflect that.
As The New York Women’s Foundation reaffirms our commitment to funding the movements’ leadership in the forefront of the reproductive justice fight, especially Black, Indigenous, and other people of color leaders, we invite our philanthropic and other partners to identify their contribution to the movement. Whether it is plugging into the coordinated fight on the local, state, or national level, we all have a role to play to resist attempts to shame, stigmatize, and criminalize those seeking abortion and control of their pregnancy outcomes.
We find hope and strength in our fierce community, made up of our grantee partners, movement stakeholders, donor partners, and other grant makers. In the words of reproductive justice activist scholar Dorothy Roberts, these unprecedented attacks against abortion and broader social justice freedoms—trying to intimidate, ban and criminalize reproductive health, restrict queer and trans books and participation in social life, attack racial justice organizing and Black history education, curb safety and security for immigrant, undocumented, or Muslim families—are a backlash evident of the strength of the gender, racial, and economic justice wins that we’ve worked so hard for. In her words, “there’s a backlash because you did something powerful.” Together, we will continue to build upon our collective power and advance toward an equitable and just future, right now.
Advance Justice For Women