President's Message

Dear friends,

As we navigate through a year without the federal protections of Roe v. Wade, we face the reality of a movement that now spends time both IN and OUT of the spotlight. There is undeniably, a ‘boom or bust’ cycle of giving, depending on ever-changing media cycles surrounding abortion bans and restrictions. People often ask me, “I can’t donate $100.00 right now—in what other ways can I support you?”

Every month we have on average 125 people who give via a recurring donation to KAF through Paypal and Givebutter. These donations range from $4.00 to $100.00 per month, bringing in roughly $2,600 per month. Recurring gifts are an investment in our organization and the patients we serve, ensuring a steady stream of income for patient care. Today we are asking you to renew your commitment to abortion access for Kansans by donating monthly to the Kansas Abortion Fund. It’s so easy, yet so critically important for us to remain sustainable.

Givebutter: https://givebutter.com/kansasabortionfund

PayPal: @KansasAbortionFund



Kansasabortionfund.org/donate-kaf

In what other ways can you do your part?

• Host a fundraiser! Partner with friends or encourage your favorite business to donate $1 per ticket, or a percentage of sales. Have an auction or raffle gifts donated by local shops. We’ll show up to address and energize the crowd, sell great KAF swag, and provide giveaways.

• Stay committed to checking in and sharing our social media content—this spreads the word, educates, and increases our supporters.

• Attend an event in your area. Bring your friends. We’re stronger together!

Speaking of events, we have several coming up:

• June 3: our board members will attend our first day-long Strategic Planning Retreat. We’ve been awarded a grant to fund a deep dive by our facilitators into our next steps as an organization, to include a solid succession plan.

• June 9-11: we are tabling with our friends at the Missouri Abortion Fund at Kansas City PRIDE. Stop by and talk to us. Tell us you read this article and we’ll give you the coolest gift. 😘

In reflection, last year at this time we primarily partnered with four clinics in Kansas. Today we fund abortion care for Kansas residents in twelve clinics nationwide. Waiting times for appointments in Kansas are longer, so more patients must travel across state lines to access care. We are immensely grateful to all of you who continue to bring options to the lives of these folks.

In Solidarity,

Sandy Brown

Kansas Legislature Attacks Kansans' Bodily Autonomy & Freedom

The state legislative session is always a spectacle of demagoguery and debasement, and this year was no different. Late last month, politicians overturned a number of vetos to enact a collection of bills that are based on blatant misinformation, and further stigmatize abortion care.

Without litigation by partner organizations, the following anti-abortion laws will soon go into effect:

• Providers are required to tell patients that a medication abortion can be reversed after the first dose by using a drug regimen that major medical groups reject. This is false, and clinical attempts to do so have had deadly consequences for patients.

• Providers will now be forced to comply with a so-called “born-alive” bill that penalizes doctors if they don’t preserve the health of newborns delivered during an abortion procedure that a “reasonably diligent and conscientious” provider would with other live births. The measure is symbolic. These instances are already covered by existing law, and are exceedingly rare because of overlapping restrictions the state has already instituted. Instead, the law will sow confusion and fear so that doctors don’t want to provide abortion care and make patients afraid to seek it

• The state will provide $2 million in tax dollars to anti-abortion centers — also known as crisis pregnancy centers — run by abortion opponents that deceive patients and try to cajole people into carrying pregnancies to term. Rather than investing in our communities’ well-being, such as expanding Medicaid, protecting renters, raising the minimum wage, and more, politicians have committed millions of dollars to fake, un-licensed health centers. This is bullshit.

And the same lawmakers attacking our bodily autonomy are the ones who resurrected Senate Bill 180 — an extreme law that bans the state from recognizing the existence of transgender people among other, unknown consequences that could open the state up to civil rights lawsuits and losing federal funds for shelters.

Our fight is one and the same with our friends in the transgender rights movement: To exercise control over our bodies and our futures. Whether that looks like deciding when and how to have a family or choosing to live freely as our whole selves, the Kansas Abortion Fund is resolute in our commitment to fight for all people — including two-spirit, transgender, and intersex people — to live and thrive in Kansas.

Medication Abortion: Mifepristone Remains Legal for Now

Last month, the Supreme Court offered a temporary reprieve from the baseless attacks on mifepristone — one of the two drugs used in the most common medication abortion regimen — and temporarily stayed two rulings that would have severely restricted access to a proven, safe medication. This means mifepristone remains accessible and on the market for now.

We must take a moment and celebrate the win for abortion access, but mifepristone’s FDA approval is still very much still in jeopardy — as is other abortion care and broader reproductive health care. 

This case could still set a horrible precedent: If the judicial system can unilaterally revoke the approval of an overly regulated and safe drug, then another with an ideological opposition to birth control, PReP, emergency contraception, stem cell research, and more, could single-handedly upend health care as we know it. 

While mifepristone’s approval remains intact, patients and providers are still at the mercy of a court system packed with extremist judges willing to bend the law to suit an anti-abortion agenda.

We are grateful that science has prevailed for now, and we will continue to monitor this case closely. No matter what happens, the Kansas Abortion Fund will continue to help patients access abortion, even if that care is out-of-state.

Kansas Abortion Fund-A-Thon 2023 Wrap-Up

This year’s Fund-A-Thon was a huge success! Kansas Abortion Fund supporters came through in a huge way, surpassing our initial goal of $15,000, and raising over $30,000 for Kansans!

The top three fundraising teams were Students United for Reproductive & Gender Equity at KU ($2,830), the ACLU of Kansas ($3,091), and the number one fundraising team was Roll for Repro Rights, who raised an incredible $4,168! There were many clever team names this year, including Vagenius, Keeper of the Pills and How 'bout that Kansas Constitution?

The Kansas Abortion Fund celebrated with a party and raffle at Lucia — a live music venue and bar in downtown Lawrence — on April 14, while jazz band Mire Pral entertained us with live music. We hope that you’ll join us for next year’s Fund-A-Thon!

KAF has never turned away a Kansan in need, and, thanks to you, we can continue to show up for patients and provide more assistance than ever before. Thanks to everyone who participated and joined us to help make abortion care accessible to ALL Kansans!

Chaneton & Sandy

Amber & Alice

Other Ways to Donate to the Kansas Abortion Fund:

Dillons Community Rewards Dollars: KAF XP838