PORTLAND, OR (Friday, July 1, 2022) – Today—in response to last week’s Supreme Court decision to overturn settled law giving people the right to their own reproductive freedom— National Crittenton, in keeping with its mission to achieve social, economic, and political justice for girls, young women, and gender-expansive youth, announced that it will launch The Reproductive Freedom Fund to ensure that its staff, direct service agency affiliates, and contractors—including young people—continue to have access to reproductive care, including safe abortions.
“As a national advocacy organization, we know that reproductive justice is essential to equity and freedom.” said president, Jeannette Pai-Espinosa. “National Crittenton unapologetically stands firm with the right for every person to access high-quality, gender-affirming sexual and reproductive health services. In the work that we do towards gender justice, and towards realizing a more just, free, and joyful world for girls, young women and gender-expansive young people, we know that reproductive autonomy is imperative. This fund is our effort to directly support and mitigate barriers for the Crittenton network across the country as we continue our collective work.”
The Reproductive Freedom Fund will provide critical resources and advocacy for those seeking reproductive care, including removing logistical, financial, caregiving, administrative, policy, and other barriers to reproductive care access. The fund will include resources to support:
- Travel and lodging funds (including one support person) to travel to another state to seek a safe and legal abortion, and/or gender-affirming healthcare;
- Costs for by-mail, FDA-approved abortion pills;
- Childcare costs associated with reproductive care travel;
- Emergency Contraception, including Plan B;
- Post-reproductive care, mental health services, and support.
All National Crittenton staff in 10 states, and all staff of the 25 Crittenton agencies serving 31 states across the country will have access to resources from the Reproductive Freedom Fund, as well as all individual contractors—including young leaders and in the case of organizations all staff—who have worked with National Crittenton in the past two calendar years. This coverage includes dependents. Additionally, we will work with our partners to determine how The Fund can support young people in foster care and those impacted by the youth justice system to access care outside of their home state.
If restrictions for receiving any and all forms of reproductive health care at the state level narrow, National Crittenton’s support will broaden to provide access. To ensure that this fund is grounded in the expertise and lived experiences of young people, National Crittenton will be hosting conversations with impacted young people of color across the country to learn more about the consequences of this decision on them–including their needs and ideas.
These supports and resources will not replace the access to reproductive care established in Roe v. Wade. Even under the protections of Roe, we know communities—particularly people of color, young people, low income, and system-involved—have long faced barriers to affirming, high-quality, and accessible reproductive health care, and the ability to make informed, autonomous decisions about their own reproductive health, their families, and their futures. As we work alongside organizations, movement leaders, and young people to fight for reproductive justice and rights and a more just world for generations to come, we will ensure that those working alongside us can access care. Questions and partnership inquiries can be emailed to ReproductiveFreedomFund@NationalCrittenton.org, and donations to the Reproductive Freedom Fund can be made via National Crittenton’s website.