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Cassy Cooke
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Investigative·By Carole Novielli
Pro-abortion survey claims funds are drying up. What's the real story?
Abortion advocates claim abortion philanthropists are not as interested in directly funding abortion as they were immediately following the Dobbs decision, leading to a "snowballing crisis" and "dwindling resources" which they fear could impact abortion funds and "deeply struggling" brick and mortar abortion facilities.
But is there more to the story?
An Abortion Access Field Sustainability Survey created to "assess the self-reported financial stability of abortion clinics and funds" claims that most patients can't afford their in-clinic abortions and that abortion funds are drying up.
Reportedly, clinics are also laying off workers and cutting back service days with some "reducing or forgoing staff salaries in order to stay open."
Philanthropists are now said to be funding "advocacy or organizing, and more systems-change level work.”
However, Big Abortion has complained about abortion funds drying up before. Creating outrage fuels donations.
The data comes from a new survey of abortion providers analyzed by the pro-abortion Autonomy News (AN) which is self-described as "a new worker-owned reproductive rights and justice publication co-founded by Garnet Henderson and Susan Rinkunas," who "do not subscribe to traditional ideas about 'journalistic objectivity.'"
Little public information about the Abortion Access Field Sustainability Survey is available, but, according to Inside Philanthropy (IP), it was created to "assess the self-reported financial stability of abortion clinics and funds."
Autonomy News wrote:
New survey data shared first with Autonomy News outlines a snowballing crisis: A majority of patients cannot afford their in-clinic abortions. Abortion funds are seeing a corresponding increase in clients as their resources dwindle.
Many clinics are offering increasingly large discounts to help patients get the care they need, which means absorbing financial losses.
That’s according to the Abortion Access Field Sustainability Survey, a quarterly survey on the self-reported financial stability of abortion clinics and funds led by Abortion Bridge Collaborative (ABC) Fund and the abortion information site I Need an A.
The groups have been collecting data since the end of 2024.
The ABC Fund is housed at the Women Donors Network; according to its 2025 report, the fund spent over $1M on the following:
Supporting self-managed abortion trainings, wrap-around care, and doula collectives...
Funding online pharmacies and fostering the work of organizations utilizing shield laws...
Increasing staff capacity at local clinics and offsetting costs for abortion procedures...
Helping independent clinics launch, move to new states, or adjust their services...
Preserving vital all-trimester care providers...
Supporting general operating costs to keep clinics and grassroots abortion funds open, including salaries, volunteer stipends, utilities, rent, digital software, security systems, and equipment.
ABC claimed in its 2025 report that it "moved nearly $4 million to more than 40 organizations in support of abortion access and practical support for abortion seekers," adding that the grants "resourced new or alternative pathways to care, from online pharmacies to self-managed abortion trainings, doula collectives, and more."
IP claimed:
The ABC Fund was created to ensure “that abortion care endures across the U.S.” using a participatory funding model to strengthen abortion infrastructure, and to back a range of community-based providers and advocates, as well as offer practical support for those seeking the procedure.
The goal? “To fill critical funding gaps in the field,” Leena Barakat, president and CEO of Women Donors Network, told IP shortly after the fund was established.
Since its founding, the ABC Fund has awarded over $16 million, with $100,000 as the average grant size.
The fund has granted dollars to "I Need an A, telehealth provider The MAP, and RISE Collective," among others, reported AN.
Amanda Beatriz Williams, director of ABC Fund, told AN that clinics are laying off workers and cutting back service days with some "reducing or forgoing staff salaries in order to stay open."
"Clinics that have already cut staff or procedure days could be under a lot of strain if they suddenly get more patients for in-person care," Williams added.
AN reported:
At least 23 independent abortion clinics—meaning those not affiliated with Planned Parenthood—shuttered in 2025, according to Abortion Care Network, a national association for independent abortion providers.
About 25 Planned Parenthood clinics that offered abortion care also closed. Without more philanthropic support, Beatriz Williams and Nall said, those numbers could keep increasing.
Abortion travel has also decreased as abortion pills flood into pro-life states; however, the increased price of gas and lodging appear to be taking their toll.
Cedar River Clinic, which commits abortions in the pro-abortion state of Washington, wrote on social media:
After Dobbs clinics and abortion funds saw a spike in donations, but that spike is flattening of late. We know this is in part due to the affordability crisis -- which is impacting both our patients, and independent abortion clinics as a result...
While we live in a pro-abortion state, that does not assure that abortion will be accessible...
We need sustainable funding for brick-and-mortar clinics like ours to help those needing essential lifesaving abortion care.
Williams pointed out to Inside Philanthropy that the ABC Fund is able to meet just half of the requests they receive:
We’ve also seen that some providers are resistant to increasing what they’re charging patients, and that puts them in a financial bind. A lot of clinics are running deficits, and are generally struggling to obtain sustainable support from philanthropy. So it is an ongoing challenge.
“A lot of funders have changed priorities,” Williams told AN. “They prefer to fund advocacy or organizing, and more systems-change level work, which is so desperately needed.”
This was echoed by IP, which wrote:
The survey found, unsurprisingly, that many clinics and abortion funds are struggling financially, as are many patients...
Amid an overall shortage of resources, a number of funders in the field still prefer to support abortion advocacy and systems change work, rather than providing direct service support, according to Williams.
"Some stalwart abortion funders, employing a range of strategies, are in it for the long haul, including Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, Ford Foundation, Freedom Together Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and David and Lucile Packard Foundation; MacKenzie Scott has also provided generous support for reproductive rights," wrote IP.
But donations are drying up, claimed AN:
One survey respondent, Utah Abortion Fund, said “we rely heavily on individual donors, but when they are also having to decide between food and rent, it becomes unsustainable.”
DC Abortion Fund said, “we've seen a major decrease in recurring donors. The long term impact on that budget will be tough to manage without new sources of funding, which we struggle to find.ˮ
This is not the first time Big Abortion has complained about abortion funds drying up, and it likely will not be the last.
After all, creating outrage fuels donations.
In 2024, abortion funding groups alleged that “gargantuan amounts” of abortion funds were “funneled” to “vague” political efforts, as ‘well-funded' and ‘out-of-touch legacy orgs’ like the National Abortion Federation (NAF) and Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) focused on elections.
Suspiciously, the most recent abortion funding deficit claims are now arriving just prior to an election.
Live Action News has previously documented that many of the abortion facility and Planned Parenthood closures were simply a ruse to garner sympathy, as they pivoted to a virtual model away from brick-and-mortar locations.
But the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently examining REMS safety regulations on the abortion pill mifepristone (200mg)/Mifeprex regarding mail-order and pharmacy dispensing.
Reading between the lines, this could provide motivation to push for more philanthropic funding to support brick-and-mortar facilities, which claim they need "multi-year, unrestricted grants to really gain some stability."
AN wrote:
[T]he Trump administration could move to restrict access to medication abortion after the midterm elections by ending telehealth prescriptions.
This would mean more people needing in-person appointments, which would only exacerbate the budget shortfalls clinics face.
Barriers and delays are also known to push abortion seekers later into pregnancy, at which point they’re more likely to need in-clinic care.
... As Kaori Sueyoshi, the survey lead with I Need an A, put it, “every single day we let the providers and clinics live in the state of fragility, we are one day further to a reality where there are fewer to no clinics remaining.”
... Clinics that have already cut staff or procedure days could be under a lot of strain if they suddenly get more patients for in-person care.
“Whatever may come with medication abortion, it's going to continue to be really important to support the frontline organizations. As funders, it's really important for us to invest now in that infrastructure, so that when the time comes, they are as well-resourced as possible," Williams claimed.
“Second- and third-trimester care is so vastly critical and will always be needed, and for that reason brick-and-mortar clinics truly need to survive,” Williams added.
The most recent funding fearmongering comes near the 50th anniversary of the federal Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal dollars from funding abortion except in limited instances.
AN acknowledged the role of Hyde:
Most people cannot use their insurance for abortion, thanks to the federal Hyde Amendment and state-level bans on even private coverage. Budget shortfalls in abortion care are not new: In 2024, local abortion funds and clinics navigated cuts from the country’s largest abortion fund, operated by the National Abortion Federation.
But as the affordability crisis worsens, groups responding to the Abortion Access Field Sustainability Survey said they’re seeing callers who need more assistance than ever, alongside less philanthropic support and fewer grassroots donations.
The end game is not for Big Abortion to take less in terms of profit, but for the American taxpayer to get increasingly saddled with the cost of funding abortion all the way up to birth.
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.
Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.
Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!
Cassy Cooke
·
Investigative
Nancy Flanders
·
Investigative
Carole Novielli
·
Investigative
Bridget Sielicki
·
Investigative
Carole Novielli
·
Investigative
Carole Novielli
·Investigative
Carole Novielli
·Investigative
Carole Novielli
·Investigative
Carole Novielli
·
Abortion Pill
Carole Novielli
·
Investigative
Carole Novielli
·Investigative·By Carole Novielli
Pro-abortion survey claims funds are drying up. What's the real story?
Abortion advocates claim abortion philanthropists are not as interested in directly funding abortion as they were immediately following the Dobbs decision, leading to a "snowballing crisis" and "dwindling resources" which they fear could impact abortion funds and "deeply struggling" brick and mortar abortion facilities.
But is there more to the story?
An Abortion Access Field Sustainability Survey created to "assess the self-reported financial stability of abortion clinics and funds" claims that most patients can't afford their in-clinic abortions and that abortion funds are drying up.
Reportedly, clinics are also laying off workers and cutting back service days with some "reducing or forgoing staff salaries in order to stay open."
Philanthropists are now said to be funding "advocacy or organizing, and more systems-change level work.”
However, Big Abortion has complained about abortion funds drying up before. Creating outrage fuels donations.
The data comes from a new survey of abortion providers analyzed by the pro-abortion Autonomy News (AN) which is self-described as "a new worker-owned reproductive rights and justice publication co-founded by Garnet Henderson and Susan Rinkunas," who "do not subscribe to traditional ideas about 'journalistic objectivity.'"
Little public information about the Abortion Access Field Sustainability Survey is available, but, according to Inside Philanthropy (IP), it was created to "assess the self-reported financial stability of abortion clinics and funds."
Autonomy News wrote:
New survey data shared first with Autonomy News outlines a snowballing crisis: A majority of patients cannot afford their in-clinic abortions. Abortion funds are seeing a corresponding increase in clients as their resources dwindle.
Many clinics are offering increasingly large discounts to help patients get the care they need, which means absorbing financial losses.
That’s according to the Abortion Access Field Sustainability Survey, a quarterly survey on the self-reported financial stability of abortion clinics and funds led by Abortion Bridge Collaborative (ABC) Fund and the abortion information site I Need an A.
The groups have been collecting data since the end of 2024.
The ABC Fund is housed at the Women Donors Network; according to its 2025 report, the fund spent over $1M on the following:
Supporting self-managed abortion trainings, wrap-around care, and doula collectives...
Funding online pharmacies and fostering the work of organizations utilizing shield laws...
Increasing staff capacity at local clinics and offsetting costs for abortion procedures...
Helping independent clinics launch, move to new states, or adjust their services...
Preserving vital all-trimester care providers...
Supporting general operating costs to keep clinics and grassroots abortion funds open, including salaries, volunteer stipends, utilities, rent, digital software, security systems, and equipment.
ABC claimed in its 2025 report that it "moved nearly $4 million to more than 40 organizations in support of abortion access and practical support for abortion seekers," adding that the grants "resourced new or alternative pathways to care, from online pharmacies to self-managed abortion trainings, doula collectives, and more."
IP claimed:
The ABC Fund was created to ensure “that abortion care endures across the U.S.” using a participatory funding model to strengthen abortion infrastructure, and to back a range of community-based providers and advocates, as well as offer practical support for those seeking the procedure.
The goal? “To fill critical funding gaps in the field,” Leena Barakat, president and CEO of Women Donors Network, told IP shortly after the fund was established.
Since its founding, the ABC Fund has awarded over $16 million, with $100,000 as the average grant size.
The fund has granted dollars to "I Need an A, telehealth provider The MAP, and RISE Collective," among others, reported AN.
Amanda Beatriz Williams, director of ABC Fund, told AN that clinics are laying off workers and cutting back service days with some "reducing or forgoing staff salaries in order to stay open."
"Clinics that have already cut staff or procedure days could be under a lot of strain if they suddenly get more patients for in-person care," Williams added.
AN reported:
At least 23 independent abortion clinics—meaning those not affiliated with Planned Parenthood—shuttered in 2025, according to Abortion Care Network, a national association for independent abortion providers.
About 25 Planned Parenthood clinics that offered abortion care also closed. Without more philanthropic support, Beatriz Williams and Nall said, those numbers could keep increasing.
Abortion travel has also decreased as abortion pills flood into pro-life states; however, the increased price of gas and lodging appear to be taking their toll.
Cedar River Clinic, which commits abortions in the pro-abortion state of Washington, wrote on social media:
After Dobbs clinics and abortion funds saw a spike in donations, but that spike is flattening of late. We know this is in part due to the affordability crisis -- which is impacting both our patients, and independent abortion clinics as a result...
While we live in a pro-abortion state, that does not assure that abortion will be accessible...
We need sustainable funding for brick-and-mortar clinics like ours to help those needing essential lifesaving abortion care.
Williams pointed out to Inside Philanthropy that the ABC Fund is able to meet just half of the requests they receive:
We’ve also seen that some providers are resistant to increasing what they’re charging patients, and that puts them in a financial bind. A lot of clinics are running deficits, and are generally struggling to obtain sustainable support from philanthropy. So it is an ongoing challenge.
“A lot of funders have changed priorities,” Williams told AN. “They prefer to fund advocacy or organizing, and more systems-change level work, which is so desperately needed.”
This was echoed by IP, which wrote:
The survey found, unsurprisingly, that many clinics and abortion funds are struggling financially, as are many patients...
Amid an overall shortage of resources, a number of funders in the field still prefer to support abortion advocacy and systems change work, rather than providing direct service support, according to Williams.
"Some stalwart abortion funders, employing a range of strategies, are in it for the long haul, including Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, Ford Foundation, Freedom Together Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and David and Lucile Packard Foundation; MacKenzie Scott has also provided generous support for reproductive rights," wrote IP.
But donations are drying up, claimed AN:
One survey respondent, Utah Abortion Fund, said “we rely heavily on individual donors, but when they are also having to decide between food and rent, it becomes unsustainable.”
DC Abortion Fund said, “we've seen a major decrease in recurring donors. The long term impact on that budget will be tough to manage without new sources of funding, which we struggle to find.ˮ
This is not the first time Big Abortion has complained about abortion funds drying up, and it likely will not be the last.
After all, creating outrage fuels donations.
In 2024, abortion funding groups alleged that “gargantuan amounts” of abortion funds were “funneled” to “vague” political efforts, as ‘well-funded' and ‘out-of-touch legacy orgs’ like the National Abortion Federation (NAF) and Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) focused on elections.
Suspiciously, the most recent abortion funding deficit claims are now arriving just prior to an election.
Live Action News has previously documented that many of the abortion facility and Planned Parenthood closures were simply a ruse to garner sympathy, as they pivoted to a virtual model away from brick-and-mortar locations.
But the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently examining REMS safety regulations on the abortion pill mifepristone (200mg)/Mifeprex regarding mail-order and pharmacy dispensing.
Reading between the lines, this could provide motivation to push for more philanthropic funding to support brick-and-mortar facilities, which claim they need "multi-year, unrestricted grants to really gain some stability."
AN wrote:
[T]he Trump administration could move to restrict access to medication abortion after the midterm elections by ending telehealth prescriptions.
This would mean more people needing in-person appointments, which would only exacerbate the budget shortfalls clinics face.
Barriers and delays are also known to push abortion seekers later into pregnancy, at which point they’re more likely to need in-clinic care.
... As Kaori Sueyoshi, the survey lead with I Need an A, put it, “every single day we let the providers and clinics live in the state of fragility, we are one day further to a reality where there are fewer to no clinics remaining.”
... Clinics that have already cut staff or procedure days could be under a lot of strain if they suddenly get more patients for in-person care.
“Whatever may come with medication abortion, it's going to continue to be really important to support the frontline organizations. As funders, it's really important for us to invest now in that infrastructure, so that when the time comes, they are as well-resourced as possible," Williams claimed.
“Second- and third-trimester care is so vastly critical and will always be needed, and for that reason brick-and-mortar clinics truly need to survive,” Williams added.
The most recent funding fearmongering comes near the 50th anniversary of the federal Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal dollars from funding abortion except in limited instances.
AN acknowledged the role of Hyde:
Most people cannot use their insurance for abortion, thanks to the federal Hyde Amendment and state-level bans on even private coverage. Budget shortfalls in abortion care are not new: In 2024, local abortion funds and clinics navigated cuts from the country’s largest abortion fund, operated by the National Abortion Federation.
But as the affordability crisis worsens, groups responding to the Abortion Access Field Sustainability Survey said they’re seeing callers who need more assistance than ever, alongside less philanthropic support and fewer grassroots donations.
The end game is not for Big Abortion to take less in terms of profit, but for the American taxpayer to get increasingly saddled with the cost of funding abortion all the way up to birth.
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.
Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.
Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!
Cassy Cooke
·Investigative
Nancy Flanders
·Investigative
Carole Novielli
·Investigative
Bridget Sielicki
·Investigative
Carole Novielli
·Investigative
Carole Novielli
·Investigative
Carole Novielli
·Investigative
Carole Novielli
·Investigative
Carole Novielli
·Abortion Pill
Carole Novielli
·Investigative
Carole Novielli
·