Exactly 50 years ago on September 30, Congress passed the Hyde Amendment, blocking abortion coverage for nearly everyone who gets their health care through Medicaid.
Read on for a history and call to action from the National Network of Abortion Funds (NNAF) and consider signing our petition.
The history
The Hyde Amendment and similar policies have made abortion harder to access for millions of Americans insured via Medicaid, disabled folks, Indigenous people enrolled in Indian Healthcare Services, the folks held in federal prisons and detention centers, people serving in the Peace Corps, federal employees and their dependents, military personnel and their dependents, veterans, and poor and working-class folks.
Abortion funds grew out of the fight against the Hyde Amendment.
Advocates across the country started grassroots abortion funds in response to Hyde to support their communities in accessing abortions. Within two decades of Hyde's introduction, at least 28 abortion funds had formed across the country. 22 of them came together to form the National Network of Abortion Funds in 1993, specifically with the hope of getting rid of Hyde. Today, that network has 100 member abortion funds- including Chelsea's Fund- and the fight against Hyde continues.
50 years after Hyde, it feels like the political landscape is getting more brutal by the minute. We saw the minimal protections that Roe v Wade provided shatter in 2022 with the Dobbs decision. We’ve seen consistent abortion bans and abortion attacks pop up all over-including here in Wyoming- making people jump through so many hoops to get basic health care.
On top of it all, we’re seeing Medicaid being shredded and basic social safety nets being cut. And the funding infrastructure is drying up across the reproductive access landscape.
A legacy of resistance
Funds like Chelsea's Fund have fought tirelessly for years alongside other Reproductive Justice organizations to build several coalitions to fight Hyde:
Funds helped launch the Campaign for Access and Reproductive Equity in 2000 with over 200 ally groups, AND the Coalition for Abortion Access and Reproductive Equity in 2010.
Funds were also pivotal to the first-ever introduction of the EACH Act to repeal the Hyde Amendment in 2015.
Many funds have been integral to the introduction of, fight for, and (in some cases), the passing of state public funding for abortion.
These are just a few examples of the work funds have done in their states to fight funding restrictions and abortion bans.
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the harmful impacts of the Hyde Amendment have only gotten worse, since getting an abortion requires even more planning, time, and money.
Abortion funds, including Chelsea's Fund, are fielding more calls and supporting more people than ever before. Since the Dobbs ruling in 2022, abortion funds have nearly doubled the number of callers they support, from 82k in 2022 to 158k in 2025.
The need for abortion funding has also doubled since Dobbs—from around 117k requests received in 2022 to around 234k in 2025.
Since Dobbs, abortion access has grown so expensive that abortion funds have more than doubled the average dollar amount they’ve spent supporting each abortion seeker, from less than $200 in 2022 to nearly $400 in 2025.
Abortion funds’ impact
Without abortion funds, hundreds of thousands of people would have been unable to get the abortions they want and need.
For all of the Hyde Amendment’s 50-year history, abortion funds have been fighting its existence, as well as helping folks navigate the restrictions it creates. NNAF itself was formed in response to these abortion funds wanting to work together as a network to build and work more strategically.
For 50 years, abortion funds have helped people navigate a system built to put barriers in their way. They have raised money, coordinated travel, connected people to clinics, provided practical support, and fought restrictions in their states and communities.
50 years of fighting Hyde and abortion restrictions means 50 years of building power
For the last half century, the abortion access movement has been laying down roots, pivoting strategically as needed, building for sustainability, deepening connections across movements, and continuing to put the humanity and dignity of their communities first. And abortion funds are not going anywhere or stopping anytime soon.
For 50 years, abortion funds have filled the ever-increasing gaps caused by the Hyde Amendment. Through consistent labor and deep commitment to their communities, funds have provided financial and logistical support to those denied abortion coverage by the Hyde Amendment. Without abortion funds, hundreds of thousands of people would have been unable to get the abortions they want and need.
Abortion funds are here, and will not stop fighting until abortion is accessible and available to all. Abortion funds continue to provide support for their communities while experiencing a waning of donations since the Dobbs decision. Abortion funds have been forced to fill in the gaps left by the system.
The Solution: End Hyde, fund abortion funds
We must end the Hyde Amendment and ensure that no one is denied their abortions because of how much money they have or where they get their insurance.
Hyde is not permanent law–each year, anti-abortion politicians in Congress actively choose to keep it in the federal budget by adding it to federal appropriations bills. And abortion funds have been leading the way in fighting it year after year – including supporting the re-introduction of the EACH Act regularly to end the Hyde Amendment and restore abortion coverage for anyone who gets health care through the federal government.
The EACH Act would also prohibit the federal government from interfering with the insurance market and decisions by private insurance plans to cover abortions.
Insurance coverage for abortion is an important step toward breaking down the massive barriers to abortion access that most harm those most likely to call abortion funds, especially poor and working-class Black, Indigenous people of color.
For decades, abortion funds have been pivotal to the movement to end abortion bans—supporting folks most affected, building power in their communities, and organizing to repeal Hyde. Abortion funds are here and will not stop until abortion is affordable, accessible, and available to all.
What YOU can do
[INDIVIDUALS]: Donate and get involved with your local abortion fund. Talk with your family and friends about the harmful impact of the Hyde Amendment. Sign our petition showing your support for abortion access!
[FOUNDATIONS]: It’s time to deeply invest in abortion funds in a long-term, sustained way, both in states where abortion is banned and states where more and more people are traveling for their abortions.
[POLICY]: Tell your elected representatives you want them to end the Hyde Amendment. Urge your member of Congress to support the EACH Act and end the Hyde Amendment and related coverage restrictions.
