In 1992, Emily Rutherford, a woman living in Granville, Ohio, got a call from a friend with a problem: she needed an abortion, but she couldn’t afford it. Her friend was a divorced mother of a 2-year-old toddler, now distressed that she was pregnant again.
Emily wrote a check for $200, drove her across town, and took her son to COSI while his mom got her abortion. Emily told her the funds came from a group of folks who help pay for abortion care. Not wanting to lie to her friend, she created such a group, then called Women Have Options Ohio, which would go on to become Abortion Fund of Ohio—Ohio’s sole statewide abortion fund.
Emily had her own abortion story, too. Of her abortion, she said simply, “I had five children under 6, and when I became pregnant again, then I had an abortion.” She traveled to Puerto Rico for abortion care when living in Massachusetts, where abortion wasn’t legal prior to Roe v. Wade. Though birth control was becoming more accessible by then, her doctor refused to prescribe it. When she became pregnant for the 6th time, she first sought out abortion care locally. Every doctor she visited refused. Determined, she and her parents arranged travel to Puerto Rico, where she received her abortion, then had to fly back again for follow-up care.
It wasn’t a simple—or cheap—journey, and she knew that folks without the time, resources, or money would not be able to access abortion. Of this gap, she said, “Wealthy women will always be able to get abortions.”
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On October 26, 2024, Emily died at her home at the age of 90, leaving a legacy of compassion and care. Abortion Fund of Ohio is honored to celebrate Emily's life and work, whose leadership was essential in stewarding us to where we are today. There are no words strong enough to describe the immense gratitude we have for Emily.
Emily was a proud graduate of The Columbus School for Girls, Smith College, and The Ohio State University, where she earned masters degrees in education and social work. Emily’s work is not limited to our fund—she also helped found The Women’s Fund of Central Ohio in 2000, which is dedicated to investing in the lived experience of women and girls across central Ohio.
Back in her living room in 1992, Emily gathered a small group of people who would form Women Have Options Ohio. In their first year, they raised $5,000 to support three women who needed help paying for their abortions. They returned voicemails, gave rides to clinics, babysat, and funded the cost of care. In the following year, Emily and the fund would help found the National Network of Abortion Funds, which began as a collective of 22 abortion funds and has grown to a network of more than 100.
When the fund was founded, abortion was even more stigmatized than it is today. For years, the identities of those behind Women Have Options Ohio remained anonymous, having received a slew of threats—including a P.O. box anthrax scare. Emily was largely unphased by the violence: she served as our first Executive Director, then as a Board Member until 2015, remaining in contact with the fund after her retirement.
We gathered in Emily’s living room in 2022, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the fund and sharing news of our intent to change the fund’s name. We acknowledged the great care and work that created and sustained Women Have Options Ohio. We also acknowledged that our name should reflect everyone who may need help accessing abortion, regardless of gender. Emily could not have been more supportive of the change, seeing the organization grow alongside a new generation of leadership. Her warmth and trust in our stewardship of the rapidly expanding fund will remain a guiding force as we push forward.
In love and solidarity,
Abortion Fund of Ohio
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You can read Emily’s obituary and honor her memory by planting a tree. You can also watch the short oral history we created nearly 10 years ago to honor Emily and our founders.