Starting September 21, it’s Taco or Beer Challenge week at the Baltimore Abortion Fund! 

What is the Taco or Beer Challenge? 

• Eat a taco and/or drink a beer
• Donate to the Baltimore Abortion Fund
• Take a picture or video of you doing both
• Post on social media using #ToBC20 and #BaltimoreAF and then challenge three friends!

"My decision to have an abortion as a young woman was emotionally difficult, but I had the financial resources to access my care and live in a state that doesn’t oppress people’s rights. Not everyone has that experience. Until our callers no longer face financial and access challenges, today’s Supreme Court decision only means that we at Baltimore Abortion Fund continue to be committed to helping them access the abortion care they need."

-Marni Cooper, BAF Board Member

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By 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court struck down the Louisiana law requiring doctors who perform abortions to have hospital admitting privileges!

Today’s June Medical Services v. Russo decision means Louisiana’s clinics will remain open, despite anti-abortion efforts to shut them down. Thanks to Louisiana’s Hope Clinic and allies like the New Orleans Abortion Fund for shouldering years of labor for all of us working for accessible abortion.

Even with today’s SCOTUS decision, abortion remains out of reach for many across the country who have and will continue to count on abortion funds to bridge the gaps created by anti-abortion legislation.

Donating to an abortion fund is a meaningful act of solidarity. Support BAF or your local fund today!

Juneteenth, Freedom Day, June 19, 1865

Juneteenth is a day that honors Black freedom and Black resistance. It's a celebration of Black resilience.

On June 19, 1865, Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas, with the news that the more than 250,000 enslaved black people in the state, were free by executive decree. This was 2 years after the Emancipation Proclamation. This day came to be known as “Juneteenth,” by the newly freed people in Texas. But, the fight for true freedom is far from over.

"BAF believes that abortion can be a revolutionary act of freedom. On Juneteenth, we remember our community members who are incarcerated, who have not yet seen the promise of this day. No one is free until we're all free."

-Imani Spence, Vice President, Baltimore Abortion Fund Board

"Today's Supreme Court ruling is a huge victory for the LGBTQAI community. Our reproductive justice movement is built on the power and organizing of so many LGBTQAI community members, specifically and at its core by those who are BIPOC. Our community celebrates this milestone while remembering the lives of so many BIPOC who were and continue to be casualties of our society’s failure to recognize and root out transphobia, homophobia and racism. My celebration is in honor of their lives. Our fight continues because as long as Black Trans Lives are denied freedom, we are all denied freedom."

-Jaylynn Johnstone, Board President, Baltimore Abortion Fund

Abortion is time-sensitive and essential! Check out our OpEd recently published in the The Baltimore Sun! Make a donation to BAF today.

(Photo Credit: Nicole McCann)

Originally published in The Baltimore Sun on April 16, 2020

By BAF Board Members Liz Bayer, Hannah Kang, and Nicole McCann

During a global pandemic, legislators in Texas tried — and failed — to use the coronavirus as an excuse to effectively ban abortion and deny its residents access to the care they need and many other states are attempted to follow their lead (“Abortion during a pandemic? Texas says no in many cases,” April 14). Thankfully, Maryland’s clinics are open and will continue to operate.

However, misinformation circulated widely after Gov. Larry Hogan’s initial shelter-in-place directive included confusing and seemingly contradictory remarks about whether clinics would be forced to close. Though the governor’s office later clarified that clinics are open, unclear communication can discourage folks from seeking the care they need. Rather than relying on nonprofit organizations to work overtime correcting misinformation, the Baltimore Abortion Fund urges The Baltimore Sun to fact check Governor Hogan’s statement and provide residents with clear information about services that are, in fact, still essential.

Read the full OpEd here.