Despite new legal protections, Ohio’s abortion fund faces temporary closure due to lack of funding
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Hardly a week after a monumental win for abortion rights supporters came into effect in Ohio, the state’s sole abortion fund has closed until February due to a lack of funding.
What was supposed to be a break until the new year has extended to a six-week closure of the Abortion Fund of Ohio, which provides financial, logistical and emotional support to people seeking abortions. After a record-breaking year, both in number of patients served and amount of money given, Lexi Dotson-Dufault, executive director of the fund, said money – and the large-scale donors behind it – has dried up.
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Saturday, the first day of the fund’s temporary closure, was also Dotson-Dufault’s first day in her new role. She’s worked at the fund since 2019, launching its case management system that same year, and has witnessed demand for the fund’s support increase exponentially.
The fund doled out nearly $1.5 million to more than 4,500 people seeking abortions in 2023, a significant increase from the $800,000 distributed to 1,200 patients in 2022. Even 2022’s numbers were a far cry from the previous year’s; the fund gave out about $200,000 to less than 1,000 people in 2021.
The demand for support only continues to increase, Dotson-Dufault said, whether it be scheduling appointments, coordinating transportation, or offering emotional connection to patients seeking abortion services. Heading into the new year is typically a busy time for the fund, she said, making the decision to close all the more difficult.
“It was really hard having to look at the numbers and be like, ‘We can’t operate, we cannot help our patients right now, we have to sit and regroup,’” Dotson-Dufault said. “That is what is so upsetting about this – when abortion funds are closed, people will go without care.”
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Unlike other abortion funds, which may place quarterly caps or other limits on how much money they can contribute to patient care, the Abortion Fund of Ohio aims to meet people’s financial demands with no holds barred. That often means it’s giving out more money than it’s taking in.
The fund, and others like it, saw a spike in donations after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. But that money went out the door almost as soon as it came in; Roe’s fall and a judge’s block on Ohio’s six-week ban brought an influx of out-of-state patients – and the higher abortion costs associated with travel.
“People are having abortions that cost as much as a down payment on a house or a new car, and that’s not feasible for an abortion fund to handle,” Dotson-Dufault said.
The passage of Issue 1, which establishes a state constitutional right to abortion and prohibits pre-viability bans on the procedure, will likely only increase demand for the fund’s services as more patients from nearby states flock to Ohio for care. And while support for Issue 1 was strong – the proponent campaign raked in more than $39 million in cash donations – Dotson-Dufault said support for the legal right to abortion doesn’t equate to support for the practical right to abortion.
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Ohio’s six-week ban, which a Hamilton County judge will soon decide whether to permanently strike down, is just one of dozens of laws restricting access to the procedure. And while Democratic lawmakers have put forward plans to repeal some restrictions, such policy proposals are unlikely to garner the support of the legislature’s Republican supermajority.
That means that absent legal challenges to laws, restrictions like a 24-hour waiting requirement and inhibitory transfer agreements for providers will continue to limit who can access the procedure. It also means that those in greatest need of the fund’s support – Black people, young adults and people with children – may go without care.
It’s a hard pill to swallow for Dotson-Dufault and the fund’s small staff, most of whom have had abortions themselves.
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“Abortion is not something that can be postponed,” she said. “It is a very time-sensitive procedure. It is a very time-sensitive experience, and every minute that someone cannot afford to get the abortion they want, that cost is going up.”
While the fund is closed, Dotson-Dufault said its staff is still available to connect people with resources. In the meantime, she said, the Ohio Women’s Alliance and the Midwest Access Coalition can help people with transportation costs, lodging and childcare. Patients needing help with medical costs can also reach out to the National Abortion Federation, if their clinic accepts such funds.
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