Donations to U.S. abortion rights teams, clinics surge after Supreme Court leak

Could 4 (Reuters) - Donations have flooded into abortion clinics and abortion-rights advocacy groups since the leak of a U.S. Supreme Court draft ruling that showed the justices apparently poised to overturn the 1973 landmark Roe v. Wade decision.

The draft ruling, which was revealed by Politico on Monday evening, sparked a frenzy of giving by Individuals to abortion clinics, groups that help individuals pay for abortions and organizations looking for to preserve abortion entry.

Beneficiaries included nationwide organizations with large working budgets in addition to small, unbiased clinics and regional groups which can be often ignored.

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NARAL Pro-Alternative America, a nonprofit that received $12.9 million in donations in fiscal yr 2021, noticed a 1,403% increase in donations in the 24 hours after the news broke in comparison with the day earlier than, spokesperson Kristin Ford stated. Fifty-one percent of donors have been giving for the first time.

Between Monday night time and midday Wednesday, greater than 4,000 donors gave more than $100,000 to the Abortion Care Community, a national affiliation of 150 impartial U.S. abortion clinics. That was the largest wave of donations over that length of time that the affiliation had ever acquired.

The cash will go on to the clinics and assist them stay open to offer reproductive well being services even if state laws prohibit them from offering abortions, the network's Govt

Director Nikki Madsen said.

"We're going to continue to be fighting in the states to deliver again abortion access," Madsen mentioned. "We have to keep these clinics open in that interim."

Advocates each for and in opposition to abortion rights say they'll use the Supreme Courtroom's ruling, expected by the end of June, to mobilize voters for the 2022 midterm elections. National anti-abortion groups Susan B. Anthony Listing and March for Life did not immediately respond to inquiries about donations.

Planned Parenthood and Emily's List, groups that advocate for reproductive rights, also did not instantly reply.

The Roe Fund, an abortion fund in Oklahoma that gives money to the state's clinics to assist patients' procedures, had greater than 8,000 donors contribute greater than $50,000 on Tuesday, the fund's Treasurer Janice Massey stated.

On Tuesday night time, Oklahoma enacted a law banning abortions after six weeks of being pregnant, shutting down virtually all abortion services in the state. read extra

"This is actually the most important surge (in donations) I've seen in the 13 years I've been doing this work," Massey mentioned.

The Kentucky Health Justice Community, another abortion fund, received greater than 1,000 donations with a mean value of $50 since Monday night time, Operations Director Ashley Jacobs said on Wednesday. When a Kentucky legislation suspended in-state abortion providers for eight days in April, the community assisted patients touring to Ohio and Indiana for abortions.

Donors also gave to organizations in areas that could see an influx of patients seeking abortions because local laws shield abortion rights.

The DC Abortion Fund, which funds abortions within the nation's capital in addition to in Virginia and Maryland, acquired greater than $105,000 in donations between Monday night and Wednesday morning, spokesperson Devin Simpson said.

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Reporting by Gabriella Borter; Enhancing by Colleen Jenkins and Cynthia Osterman

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