It’s been 365 days since Republican Governor Kay Ivey signed Alabama’s total abortion ban into law, making abortion completely illegal in the state and with absolutely no exceptions. Ironically, that ban never actually stopped any abortions – in fact, in many ways it made it easier for those without insurance and with no financial means to obtain one. The courts stopped this clearly unconstitutional ban from ever being enforced, and the nation worked together to send resources to the state just in case. That financial assistance allowed us to help more than 1000 patients obtain their legal right to a termination – in Alabama and outside the state – despite being unable to afford the procedure on their own.
But that isn’t enough. At this point in time, access to a legal abortion requires access to a person to “perform” it – whether that be a procedure done via vacuum aspiration, or simply handing over a few pills that the government won’t allow patients to obtain themselves. Which is why the only way we can be certain abortion will remain in reach for everyone in the state is to make this next logical step.
Yes, Yellowhammer Fund has purchased an abortion clinic.
West Alabama Women’s Center has been a hub for abortion access for nearly three decades, and we want to be sure it remains so for as long as abortion is legal in the state. That is why we have acquired the clinic ourselves, allowing the founder, Gloria Gray, to finally retire without any concerns that the clinic will fall into the hands of abortion opponents or otherwise be closed. We are looking forward to expanding services there and helping Alabamians access a full range of reproductive healthcare services – including trans healthcare – within the next year.
One year ago, abortion was made illegal in the state. Today, abortion is still completely available in clinics without fear of prosecution. And hopefully, one year from now, West Alabama Women’s Center will be the full services reproductive health site we have always dreamed existed in the state.