COVID-19 Statement
COVID-19 has dramatically impacted missouri abortion access
you thought it was bad before?
Even before the COVID-19 crisis, many Missourians were struggling with financial and health uncertainties and challenges in caring for our families. With the added impact of being isolated from our support systems, the pandemic has made it even harder to access abortion in Missouri. Our lives are changing dramatically.
COVID-19 has brought on the crisis in abortion access that we anticipated with conservative SCOTUS appointments on the national level, and conservative legislature in Missouri. A different source, and on a faster timeline, but the same crisis nonetheless.
Here’s what we know:
Hospitals are preparing for a baby boom in nine months, and abortion funds across the country are preparing for an increased number of abortions before then. In a state where access to abortion was already deeply threatened and restricted, during a pandemic the needs of abortion funds only increase:
People seeking abortion are more likely to feel the burdens of lost wages, working through illness without paid time off and school and daycare closures, not to mention challenges paying rent, finding groceries, and more.
OB-GYNs report that patients are putting off coming in for birth control.
Some clinics have divided their staff into two teams in case one gets sick, and appointments are limited for safety.
Condom sales have risen but are not easy for everyone sheltering in places to obtain.
The potential added strains of living in an abusive or unsupportive situation seriously complicate the process and compromise safety.
The average Missourian already lives over 100 miles away from an abortion clinic. Social distancing has made it harder for people to travel to clinics. Rides are more difficult to come by and mass transit is highly restricted, if not completely shut down, in many areas.
We are preparing for an increase in later abortion procedures as people have to delay routine medical care. Later abortion procedures are significantly more expensive than earlier ones.
The need is greater than ever. Abortion has always been the most politicized and stigmatized form of health care in the United States. During a pandemic, it remains 100 percent essential that people have the autonomy to end a pregnancy. Using a public health crisis to force people to stay pregnant is immoral.
Here’s what we’re doing:
Our mission is straightforward and unwavering: Missouri Abortion Fund continues to work with our partner clinics to provide much-needed funding to Missourians seeking abortion care.
We work daily and diligently with our network of other abortion funds and reproductive justice partners in the Midwest to ensure abortion access is available to Missourians.
How You Can Help
If you are able, donate to MoAF today. We are a volunteer-run organization with very little overhead. A donation of any amount makes a direct impact to help a Missourian in need of abortion care.
Please continue to be vigilant about rest, hydration, hand washing, and physical distancing where at all possible. We’re all adjusting to this new reality, but we know we’ll get through as we always have. Together.
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