Gretchen's List: July 2022
Dear Friends,
I am sorry it has taken me so long to write post-Dobbs decision, but, truly it’s been an overwhelming week.
To be honest, I have been in a big of a fog since last Friday: the fear; the anger; the adrenaline; the bittersweet heartbreak of finding my name, along with my colleagues’, cited in the dissent. Through my anxiety, guilt, and disconnection, there was one thing I knew to be true right away: we are right. I shared this right after the decision came down:
The ability to control our bodies and our futures is good — good for our health, good for our relationships, good for our children and our families, good for our communities — and that includes abortion. Abortion is a force for moral good in our world. And even if the Supreme Court of the United States is wrong on this, we are right. Please know that, in your heart, and carry it with you every day.
I won’t be moved away from this work. I come to it from a deep belief that working towards liberation requires access to abortion, and that commitment will never change.
My best,
Gretchen
P.S. I’m probably gonna email you again in another week or two with recommendations for state legislatures and state supreme courts giving so buckle up.
Where to Give Right Now: Abortion Bridge Collaborative Fund
Along with fellow donors and advocates, I have been working for the last few months to put together the Abortion Bridge Collaborative Fund (ABC Fund), which is designed to serve as a “bridge” between the current capacity of abortion access organizations and where provision infrastructure in this country needs to be, as well as between the current state of philanthropy and where I am hoping we will in five years.
This is a rapid response fund to build the emergent and emergency infrastructure required to ensure access to abortion care for as many Americans, in as many places across the country, as possible. This fund will have the dual purposes of building capacity in targeted areas in which abortion care will continue, and working towards access and legal protections in areas where it will not. It will seek to ensure that existing, underfunded organizations have the resources necessary to be creative, responsive, and innovative in increasing capacity, scaling operations, and adapting to the needs of the communities they serve. Grant-making decisions will be made by a board of advocates from across the country. The fund is housed at the Women Donors Network, but open to all donors.
[Note: Stop giving to that same place that has probably raised a gazillion dollars in the last week and has stopped (here, here, and here) providing abortions anyway, before the law requires them to to do. Send the money to the organizations on the ground, doing the work of getting people abortions now.]
We are seeking to raise $5 million for this pooled giving by the end of 2022. If you are looking for a space for high-level anger or anxiety giving, this is your “one-stop-donate” place where you can know your money will be deployed strategically to help make is easier and safer for more Americans to obtain abortions as soon as possible.
Answers to your Frequently Asked Questions are here, and information on how to give is available here. Please register for our official launch call on July 11th at 10am PT. I hope you can join us.
Where to Give Next, and What to Do: More Abortion Giving Recommendations
My recommendations from May remain my best advice, and this Give Guide that I developed with the San Francisco Foundation has been recently updated.
Here’s the quick-link version of my previous recommendations, with a few additions.
Abortion Care Network’s Keep Our Clinics Open Fund. Independent abortion providers, which perform the majority of abortions in this country.
Access Reproductive Justice. This is California’s abortion fund. Look here to find the abortion funding organizations in your — or any — state.
All-Options National. Free, nationwide options counseling and support.
Apiary Collective. Helping build infrastructure for practical support (travel, childcare, etc.) for people seeking abortions.
Brigid Alliance. Helping people travel for abortion care.
INeedanA.com. Patient navigation made easy.
Repro Worker Aid Fund. Make life a little easier for repro workers who will soon be out of jobs.
Self-Managed Abortion, Safe and Support. Educating about abortion pills and self-management.
We Testify. Abortion storytelling, with a focus on women of color, LGBTQ people.
Want to give time instead of money? If you’re a tech person, check out the Digital Defense Fund. If you want to work with people trying to access abortions, reach out to your local abortion fund (Access Reproductive Justice for fellow Californians) or All-Options National.
Ready to share your abortion story (especially if you live in Wyoming, Idaho, Florida, South Dakota, Louisiana, Oklahoma, or Kentucky)? Join a storytelling training from We Testify.
Want to see if your employer is funding anti-abortion candidates and policies so you can cause trouble in your workplace? Ultraviolet has the repro receipts.
Political Giving for Abortion Rights and Reproductive Justice
Do I think giving to candidates is the entire answer right now? LOL. Do I believe winning elections — which includes voting and helping fund campaigns — still matters? I do, very much. As cynical as I feel this week, I still believe this. Michiganders are able to get abortions today because Gretchen Whitmer is their governor, and — with their trigger law and their Republican-controlled legislature — I don’t know if they would have that if she’d lost in 2018. This example is just one top-of-ticket race that will have repercussions for who has access, what laws are in place, which laws are enforced, who is criminalized and prosecuted, and how public money will be spent to keep people safe (medically, legally).
State Governance. Includes governors (who will have veto power over bad statewide legislation, and the ability to make relevant executive orders), attorneys general (who will decide whether or not to defend state trigger laws and/or file lawsuits to enjoin bans), plus secretaries of state (because we need just voting laws and secure elections to do anything else). I am also hosting AG and SoS events this month if you’re interested; please see below for details.
US Senate. Includes vulnerable incumbents who still need funds and flippable states. Do I have every confidence the Republicans will fight hard for a nationwide abortion ban if they have a majority? I do.
Prosecutors for a post-Dobbs World. Includes attorneys general and prosecutors who have made a public commitment not to prosecute cases related to seeking or providing abortions, and are in competitive races this cycle. (I admit that I am newer to this space — if you know of a progressive prosecutor who should on this list for this cycle, please let me know and I will add them.) As Steve Descano, Virginia’s Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney wrote in his New York Times op-ed “My Governor Can Pass Bad Abortion Laws. But I Won’t Enforce Them”:
“For hundreds of thousands of American women, access to an abortion soon may depend not only on which state they live in but also on how hard-line their local prosecutor is. That’s why I hope prosecutors across the country will join me in choosing to lead on behalf of the women we represent.”
For those of you who come from a criminal justice background, I encourage you to consider if this is a way that you would be eager to become involved in the fight for abortion access and reproductive justice.
State Legislatures and State Supreme Courts. Coming later this month once reporters stop taking up all my writing time.
Upcoming Events
Wednesday, July 13 at 4:30pm PT/7:30pm ET. Please join me for our virtual event with Attorneys General Dana Nessel (Michigan) and Josh Kaul (Wisconsin). Both are in extremely competitive races and need support to continue defending abortion access in their states. Plus, Dana is an overall badass who has shared her own abortion story. This event is a way not only to support these important candidates, but to let them know that they’ve earned your support specifically because they are champions on this issue. Please RSVP and contribute here.
Thursday, July 14 at 4pm PT/7pm ET. Please join me for our virtual event with all four of our incumbent women Democratic Secretaries of State: Shirley Weber (CA), Jena Griswold (CO), Jocelyn Benson (MI), Maggie Toulouse Oliver (NM); and one challenger: Bee Nguyen (GA). These women are responsible for overseeing free and fair elections in their states, and the winners in their races will certify the Electoral College votes in 2024. Plus, this office is a pipeline for future governors and senators — this is a chance to invest in our next level of Democratic leaders. Please RSVP and contribute here.
Donor, sociologist, researcher. Board member at WDN Action and Emerge America, and steering committee member at Electing Women Bay Area -- but all content here is mine alone and not on behalf of any organization or business. My goals are to help others find their networks and feel more comfortable and informed participating in the political giving space.
Currently reading Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez, in between talking Dirty Dancing and abortion on PBS and chatting with Katie Couric about that 1972 episode of Maude.