Pledge-A-Picket

Women's stories

Here are the stories of women who received assistance from the Women In Need Fund:

• Sasha, a new immigrant who spoke only Russian, was living with her two small children in a temporary domestic violence shelter in Spokane. Clinic staff helped coordinate transportation, and the Women In Need Fund paid for an interpreter, meals, and shelter for Sasha and her children, during their 3 day stay.
• Mary Jean came from a strict Catholic family. Although she had been raped, no one in her family supported her decision to have an abortion. When she arrived at the clinic from her home 4 hours away, we found she was too far along for a one-day procedure and she would need to stay overnight. Since it took all her funds to pay for the more advanced procedure, WIN paid for a motel and meal so she would not have to stay in a hostile environment with anti-abortion relatives.
• Amber was able to get state Medicaid to cover the cost of abortion. She was living in a homeless shelter in Tacoma. When we encouraged her to take the prescribed medication with food, she laughed and said she didn’t have any food or money. The clinic’s health-worker left the room and came back with $15. Amber said it was “a lot of money” and was grateful to be treated with compassion.
• Maria, 16, was scheduled for an abortion in Yakima. Her mother, who speaks only Spanish, brought her in on a Saturday, but the pregnancy was too far advanced for the procedure to be performed that day. They set a new appointment for Maria in Renton for the following week. Maria’s parents couldn’t come with her because they couldn’t miss work. Somehow Maria arrived at the clinic on time, but with only $5 cash to last 2 days. The Women In Need Fund paid for a room at a nearby hotel with a free continental breakfast and $20 more for gas and food.
• Age 19, Chan was an exchange student from China. She spoke almost no English. Soon after arriving, she discovered she was pregnant. Believing she “couldn’t tell anyone” Chan worried her host family would send her back. If she went home, her whole family would be shamed. The UW health center referred her to Cedar River Clinics and our Women In Need Fund covered the full cost for her care and certified medical Interpreter.
• Molly lives with her parents, is a full-time student with a part-time job. Because she misunderstood the symptoms of pregnancy, she didn’t seek care until she was four months along. Even on our sliding fee scale, the procedure cost more than she had in savings. There are 4 kids at home and the family lives paycheck to paycheck with nothing to spare. WIN made up the difference between what Molly had and the cost of the procedure.
• Cynthia’s pregnancy was diagnosed in Idaho, but by the time she made it to Yakima, the pregnancy was more advanced than the initial assessment indicated. Cynthia brought with her all the money she had available. WIN paid for the rest of the cost of the procedure and covered her motel for her overnight in Yakima.
• Sharon is a full-time student, a mother of three, and a Native Alaskan. When she realized she was pregnant again, she immediately sought help through Alaska Medicaid as well as Indian Health Services. At the time Alaska denied abortion services under state Medicaid. Because the federal government funds Indian Health Services, IHS cannot cover abortion. Like many Alaskans, she had frequent flyer miles she could use to get to Sea-Tac Airport, but the restrictions on travel days made it nearly impossible to stay in the Seattle area long enough to get an abortion. She re-scheduled her appointment with us six times before the schedule worked out. Sharon was so determined she considered finding a local non-doctor to perform the abortion illegally. Because of the delays, the procedure cost $600 and Sharon had $200. WIN made up the difference.
• Alice is on full disability and receives Social Security payments of $450 per month. She has 8 dependents. WIN covered her first-trimester abortion in full.
• Over the previous 6 months, Michelle put every penny she had into starting up a new business in hopes of future economic security and independence. It was slowly working. Her weekly take-home pay was $150. The pregnancy threw her for a loop. As a self-employed woman she didn’t yet have health insurance. WIN covered half the cost of her procedure.
• Though Marian didn’t yet have a place to live (she was staying with one friend after another) she did have a new job. When she discovered she was pregnant and needed time off work, her employer understood and even drove Marian from Kennewick to Yakima for the appointment. However, since Marian was over 12 weeks, she couldn’t go back to Kennewick overnight between appointments. WIN paid for her motel.
• Amanda called us in tears. For several weeks she searched the entire United States looking for financial help to travel to get an abortion. Her husband had just run out on her. She had a 7-month old daughter. She lived in a remote part of Alaska. All her family was in Florida and could not offer any help. Alaska’s state legislature had recently voted to stop covering abortion as part of the state's Medicaid program, and the case was still in court. Amanda’s monthly income was $400, about the same price as a first trimester abortion. She had nothing to purchase plane fare. WIN paid for her airplane ticket. An Alaska pro-choice organization paid for part of the cost of her abortion. She had friends to stay with in the Seattle area who provided transportation. (The law in Alaska was later challenged in court and today Alaska Medicaid includes abortion coverage.)
• Teresa was a single mother of two sons. She worked as a sales clerk in a local auto parts store and was covered by insurance, but the insurance policy did not include abortion. Teresa recognized the pregnancy early on. She was able to save up, and borrow money from her friends, but was still $55 short for a first trimester procedure. If she waited for her next paycheck, the price of the abortion would go up because she would be in the second trimester. WIN subsidized her care.
• Sherice had been taking birth control pills, but stopped when she split up with her boyfriend and he moved out of state. While she was on the pill she had no periods, so it wasn’t that odd not to have periods when she went off the pill. Then she decided to get a pregnancy test. Based upon her last menstrual period, she was 11 weeks pregnant. But when she came to the clinic, by ultrasound she was 16 weeks, which meant the abortion procedure was more complex and the fee was $300 higher than she expected. Shocked, frightened, and not wanting to delay the abortion, Sherice offered to make up the difference through a payment plan at $20 per month. WIN covered the $300, Sherice’s future payments will go back into the WIN Fund.
• Shannon was the mother of three children, ages 11, 4 and 9-months and lives near the clinic. Shannon had a job, but no insurance. She was been trying to get into the clinic for an abortion for more than six weeks. Each time she made an appointment, something came up: new work responsibilities, a sick child, and fear of losing her job for taking time off. In fact, she was on probation with her employer due to missed time. Shannon was overburdened by debt. Her monthly income didn't cover the payday loans she took out to pay back rent. Things quickly spiraled down for her... her partner walked out; she was threatened with eviction and the loss of her job. She attempted suicide. Her pregnancy had advanced into the second trimester when abortion costs more. Shannon felt utterly alone and overwhelmed with her situation until she found our clinic and a variety of abortion funds who worked together to help her. Shannon was amazed that strangers are willing to help.
• Grace was an AmeriCorps Volunteer working in Northern Idaho. She earned about $700 per month for community service work as a carpenter’s assistant. She was a single mother of an 18-month-old. Abortion is not covered through AmeriCorps because it is a program of the federal government. But, getting time off from AmeriCorps to travel to the Seattle area for an abortion appointment was what slowed Grace down. By the time she could get time off, she was in the second trimester and the fee was $1400. Grace borrowed from friends and relatives to come up with $900. She had friends to stay with in Seattle and her mother was able to drive her. WIN covered the remaining $500 for her abortion.
• Barbara was trying to leave her battering husband, get into treatment for drug abuse, and care for her two small children. The day of her appointment in Tacoma, she arrived with fresh bruises and scratches on her face. That morning her husband intercepted her and took all but $55 of the cash she had saved for the abortion. We reduced the price of her abortion and gave her referrals for a nearby safe home. Because her husband didn’t like her using birth control, she wanted the three-month-shot Depo Provera which WIN also covered.
• Marita came into our Yakima clinic for a free pregnancy test. She was raped by an acquaintance. She had no money, no job, was not a US citizen, and was living in a shelter for temporarily homeless women. WIN provided a free abortion and Marita felt overwhelmingly supported by our bicultural bilingual staff.
• Rosa was 18 and living with extended family in Mexico when she was raped by a relative, prompting her to move to Washington to live with her parents. Rosa had never had sex before. She didn’t tell her parents about the rape, and she certainly did not report it back in Mexico. Neither Rosa nor her parents speak English. When Rosa missed her period, she felt she could not tell her parents, they are very protective of her, they might not believe her about the rape. She feared, it could cause a split in the family, and because of their religion, they might stop her from making her own decision. With the help of our Spanish-speaking staff and the WIN Fund, Rosa got the health care and complete information she needed.
• Taneika is the mother of two sons. She works nights at a Catholic hospital. She has health insurance, but the policy explicitly does not cover abortion or contraception. On the day of her appointment in Tacoma, Taneika was $50 short. WIN made up the difference.
• Newly arrived in Pierce County, Lee was a 23-year-old Cambodian woman, mother of two, whose husband forbade her to use birth control. She wanted a discreet contraceptive method, something that wouldn’t need her husband’s approval. With funding from the WIN Fund for interpreters, Lee gave full informed consent in her native language and selected Depo Provera, a contraceptive injection that provides protection for three months. Clutching her interpreter, Lee arrived at the clinic shy and intimidated. By the time she left, Lee hugged us, smiled, and walked out proudly.

NOTE: All names changed to preserve confidentiality.