Women Have Options (WHO/O) is Ohio’s statewide abortion fund. Founded in 1992, they are a non-profit organization dedicated to helping Ohioans access their reproductive choices. They believe that everyone should be able to make their own reproductive decisions—and work to make that a reality in Ohio.

Women Have Options began as a community effort in response to an unmet need for abortion funding and access in Ohio. They are a member of the National Network of Abortion Funds (NNAF), a membership organization with hundreds of funds across the United States and around the world.

WHO/O provide financial assistance to help patients afford contraception, emergency contraception, and abortion services. They distribute funds to clinics throughout Ohio and the US. These clinics, in turn, use the funds to provide financial assistance to those in need. Since 1992, Women Have Options has helped thousands pay for their reproductive choices.

The cost of a first-trimester abortion can be more than a low-income family lives on in a month. Ohioans forgo food, risk eviction, and pawn their possessions as they attempt to raise money for abortion care. Some are forced to continue the pregnancy, abandon their education, and stay trapped in poverty. On average, an individual receives about $100 from Women Have Options. Many women who receive WHO/O funds have managed to save almost enough money to pay for their abortion costs on their own but just need a bit more—just $10 or $20—to cover the total.

While we receive grants from national foundations, most of our resources come from individual donors and events. Your support can make all the difference by helping women afford the reproductive health care they need. 

"Join us for ______________, supporting Women Have Options - a fund that helps individuals in Ohio access the safe, affordable and compassionate reproductive healthcare they need."

Why Fund Abortion Access?

• No one should have to go bankrupt or deep into debt because they don’t have affordable reproductive health care.
• The obstacles to reproductive health access are very real — economic, legal and social.
• Every day Ohio clinics get calls from those who are struggling to buy groceries, pay their bills, provide for their children — and suddenly find they need $600 or more to pay for an abortion.
• Because abortion isn't a right without access. 

This is always a possibility when working with abortion access organizations. Please know that we are here to support you and know that we hope you contact us if this happens. We are experts at creating messaging or safety plans in the case of potential event protesting. One very important thing to remember is that the best course of action is non-engagement- they are really just looking for attention. If you do decide to respond or get questioned by folks who are honestly curious about why you are partnering with WHO/O it is important that you respond with compassion. We can help you come up with any official statement that can be used to respond in a compassionate and non-stigmatizing way. 

Here are some simple statements to get you started:

Abortion is a deeply personal and sometimes complex decision for a woman to make. You can’t make that decision for someone else. Nobody knows their specific situation—we’re not in her shoes. 

We believe that single most important factor for women's advancement in society is our ability to control our fertility. Without that, we are trapped by the realities of pregnancy, childbirth and childrearing; rather than a privilege and a gift, these aspects of being female often become an unbearable burden. Attempts to limit women's reproductive freedom are no more than a gambit to keep women "in their place"-- a gambit in the guise of religious moralism. But anyways, aren't supposed to live in a secular society (separation of church and state anyone?)

Here is a great list of snappy come-backs from our friends at URGE. It addresses the very typical arguments by anti-choice folks: 

YES! Women Have Options is a registered 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization. All charitable contributions to WHO/Ohio are tax-deductible for income tax purposes.