Vermont abortion fund reports record donations after Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade

Vermont Entry to Reproductive Freedom, a fund that gives monetary help to folks searching for abortion, obtained a “fully record-breaking” surge in donations because the U.S. Supreme Court docket overturned Roe v. Wade final Friday, a board member stated. 

For the reason that Supreme Court docket eradicated the nationwide proper to have an abortion, Vermont Entry to Reproductive Freedom has obtained over $100,000 in donations, in line with Vermont Entry board member Catherine Coteus. 

That determine represents an unprecedented sum for the small nonprofit group. 

“(This) has by no means occurred for our group,” Coteus stated in an interview. “Not even shut. I feel probably the most cash we have ever had in our checking account has been like $20k.”

The Supreme Court docket’s determination in Dobbs v. Jackson Ladies’s Well being Group, wherein the vast majority of justices voted to overturn Roe v. Wade’s almost 50-year-old precedent, was met with an outpouring of rage and condemnation throughout Vermont. 

For Vermont Entry to Reproductive Freedom, which is the state’s solely abortion fund, in line with Coteus, that anger translated to direct donations. 

Abortion funds throughout the nation have reported a surge in donations, as many People search to help abortion rights within the wake of the Supreme Court docket’s ruling. The Nationwide Community of Abortion Funds raised over $3 million on Friday alone, in line with The New York Occasions.

Abortion in Vermont is protected by state legislation, and legislators are working to enshrine entry to reproductive care within the state structure. 

An abortion in Vermont prices roughly $600, Coteus stated, and Vermont Entry’ aim is to make that sum reasonably priced for any Vermonter who needs the process. In 2020, the final 12 months for which information was obtainable, the fund paid out grants to 48 folks, with a mean grant of $412. 

The group has no paid workers and is run by a board of about 10 volunteers. 

“Principally, what occurs is we make some cash, we increase some cash, after which folks name us, and we give all of it away,” Coteus stated. “After which we’re out of cash.”

It’s not clear what Vermont Entry will do with its windfall of donations. Often the group receives between 40 and 60 calls a 12 months from folks searching for abortions, though volunteers anticipate these numbers to rise as folks from different states — the place abortion rights are restricted — search abortions in Vermont. 

The fund is at the moment meant for use by Vermont residents, but it surely doesn’t have strict eligibility guidelines, Coteus stated. It’s not clear if the group will develop its companies to anybody who involves the state, however she famous that the definition of a resident can already be blurry. 

“What if possibly you went to school in Vermont, otherwise you’re coming right here as a result of your aunt lives in Vermont, otherwise you’ve in any other case linked to the place?” she stated. “I do not know the reply to that but. And I additionally do not know what which means for us legally.”