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A Frontline Reflection: Three Years After Dobbs

This is not something the courts can take from us.
Not our dignity.
Not our joy.
Not the power of our community.
And for damn sure, not our abortions. 

Abortion is ours, forever.

Dear supporter,

Where were you on June 24, 2022? For me, this day will forever be etched into memory. At the time, I was a NYAAF volunteer and board member, working tirelessly to make abortion access possible for New Yorkers and the small but growing number of folks coming from out of state.

We knew the decision was coming. The leaked opinion a month prior laid it out in plain language. Still, when the Dobbs v Jackson ruling officially overturned Roe v Wade and ended abortion as a constitutional right, I dropped my phone in disbelief. I sobbed—for myself, for my people, for my ancestors, and for future generations. And then I got up, and hit the streets.

I gathered with my community—friends and strangers, longtime comrades and folks brand new to the movement—and together we publicly grieved. I knew that although we had lost this battle, we had not lost our will to fight. The stakes were simply too high.

That day and in the days that followed, so many people asked me what they could do. I knew I had to channel my grief into purpose. After the tears, the chants, and the speeches, I went home, got some sleep and woke up the next morning ready to continue the sacred work of funding abortion, just on a larger, more urgent scale.   

Shortly after the Dobbs decision, the NYAAF board asked me to become our first staff member and lead the organization’s response. In the three years since, we have stayed nimble, grown, and risen to meet the moment. We are now a staff of six leaning into love and rigor as we foster systems of community care and build collective power to dismantle barriers, shift systems, and advance reproductive justice.

In 2021, the year before Dobbs, we moved just over $550,000 in abortion funding. In 2024, we nearly quadrupled that number, moving more than $2 million. In 2021, we supported 775 people. In 2024, we supported 2,771 callers from near and far.

I am deeply proud of what we’ve collectively built to meet this moment. But three years after Dobbs, things have only gotten worse. More states have enacted bans. More clinics have closed. More people are being criminalized. And we know that Black and Indigenous people, queer and trans folks, immigrants, people with disabilities, and those at the intersections, are bearing the brunt of the state’s endless cruelty—because we always have. As a Black and Latinx woman, this is personal. 

I mourn the lives of Candi Miller, Amber Thurman, and Adriana Smith. I mourn for everyone harmed by the aftermath of Dobbs, many whose names we may never know.

Our community still has a monumental task ahead of us. There is no quick fix to the current mess we have all found ourselves in. But we must continue to fight. We must continue to dream. We dream of a world of true abortion freedom: one without barriers, criminalization, or stigma. A world where all reproductive outcomes are honored and celebrated. 

This is not something the courts can take from us.

Not our dignity.

Not our joy.

Not the power of our community.

And for damn sure, not our abortions. 

Abortion is ours, forever.

Chelsea Williams-Diggs

NYAAF Executive Director

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NYAAF NYAAF

NYAAF’s helpline will be closed from June 28th to July 5th

During this time, emails and phone calls will not be monitored and we will not be able to support any callers or new requests. We will begin taking new calls and funding abortions again on Sunday, July 6th. 

Need support during our break? Find a list of helpful resources below.

Need an appointment?

Seeking low to no-cost medication abortion in NYC? 

Need support paying for an abortion? 

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NYAAF NYAAF

NYAAF’s helpline will be closed from March 29 to April 5.

During this time, emails and phone calls will not be monitored and we will not be able to support any callers or new requests. We will begin taking new calls and funding abortions again on Sunday, April 6. 

Need support during our break? Find a list of helpful resources below.

Need an appointment?

Seeking low to no-cost medication abortion in NYC? 

Need support paying for an abortion? 

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NYAAF NYAAF

NYAAF’s helpline will be closed from December 20 to January 4.

During this time, emails and phone calls will not be monitored and we will not be able to support any callers or new requests. We will begin taking new calls and funding abortions again on Sunday, January 5. 

Need support during our break? Find a list of helpful resources below.

Need an appointment?

Seeking low to no-cost medication abortion in NYC? 

Need support paying for an abortion? 

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NYAAF NYAAF

NYAAF’s helpline will be closed from September 28 to October 5.

During this time, emails and phone calls will not be monitored and we will not be able to support any callers or new requests. We will begin taking new calls and funding abortions again on Sunday, October 6. 

Need support during our break? Find a list of helpful resources below.

Need an appointment?

Seeking low to no-cost medication abortion in NYC? 

Need support paying for an abortion? 

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NYAAF NYAAF

NYAAF’s helpline will be closed from June 29th to July 6th.

During this time, emails and phone calls will not be monitored and we will not be able to support any callers or new requests. We will begin taking new calls and funding abortions again on Sunday, July 7. 

Need support during our break? Find a list of helpful resources below.

Need an appointment?

Seeking low to no-cost medication abortion in NYC? 

Need support paying for an abortion? 

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NYAAF NYAAF

NYAAF’s helpline will be closed from March 30th to April 6th.

During this time, emails and phone calls will not be monitored and we will not be able to support any callers or new requests. We will begin taking new calls and funding abortions again on Sunday, April 7. 

Need support during our break? Find a list of helpful resources below.

Need an appointment?

Seeking low to no-cost medication abortion in NYC? 

Need support paying for an abortion? 

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NYAAF NYAAF

2024 Fund-a-Thon

Fund-A-Thon is a grassroots fundraising campaign that NYAAF, along with abortion funds nationwide, partake in every year. Each year from March to May 31, community members raise money on behalf of their local abortion fund.

Fund-A-Thon is a grassroots fundraising campaign that NYAAF, along with other abortion funds nationwide, partake in every year.  Each year from March to May 31, community members raise money on behalf of their local abortion funds. This is NYAAF’s flagship fundraising campaign, a moment for us to connect to our community, for you all to uplift why you support reproductive access as it's been under attack, and a time for us all to celebrate together. 

This year, we set a goal to raise $200,000 so we can continue to support 100% of callers.

Register for Fund-a-Thon!

When you join NYAAF’s Fund-a-Thon as an individual or team fundraiser, you undo abortion stigma, build community with other reproductive justice supporters, and move resources to people who need abortion access the most.

Whether you host your own fundraising party or mobilize your network through individual conversations, participating in Fund-a-Thon is engaging in radical care.

Ready to get started?! Check out this Fundraising Toolkit to help you along the way. 

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NYAAF NYAAF

NYAAF’s office and helpline closed from 12/24/23, to 1/6/24.

During this time, emails and phone calls will not be monitored and we will not be able to support any callers or new requests. We will begin taking new calls and funding abortions again starting the week of January 7.

NYAAF’s office and helpline will be completely closed from December 24, 2023, to January 6, 2024. During this time, emails and phone calls will not be monitored and we will not be able to support any callers or new requests. We will begin taking new calls and funding abortions again starting the week of January 7. If you have any issues or questions during our closure, we will respond after January 7.

This is a bold first at NYAAF — before now we have never closed the helpline for such a break. We take inspiration from and honor the many funds in our network who lead by example and teach us that rest is indeed resistance. As we grow and adapt to this increasingly difficult landscape of abortion access, we are working to more intentionally live out the liberatory values of radical rest and community care.

Need support during our break? Find a list of helpful resources below.

Need an appointment?
abortionfinder.org
NYC Abortion Access Hub: 877-692-2482

Seeking low to no-cost medication abortion in NYC?
NYC sexual health clinics: 347-396-7959

Need support paying for an abortion?
National Abortion Hotline: 1-800-772-9100
National Network of Abortion Funds

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