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Download the Tiller Fund Report
Less than eight hours after abortion provider Dr. George Tiller’s assassination in 2009 by anti-abortion extremists—in response to a many inquiries, and the resulting request from Dr. Tiller’s own office—the National Network of Abortion Funds created the George Tiller Memorial Abortion Fund, also referred to as the Tiller Fund.
The research presented in this report is comprised of secondary data analyses of 3,999 administrative cases in the U.S. showing how the Tiller Fund has been used over the five years from 2010 to 2015, including information about who was funded and what circumstances were at play in their lives when they needed abortion funding. Clients in the second trimester were prioritized by NNAF for funding assistance, given the increased costs and the need for expediency associated with abortions in the second trimester.
Sample demographics were examined and compared to demographics of abortion patients nationally.[i] Costs, funding assistance, patient resources, and changes over time in pledges for second-trimester procedures were also examined. The researchers also examine whether pledges for procedures in the second trimester increased over time in light of increases in state-level abortion restrictions enacted from 2010-2014. Further, the researchers traced geographic origin, and whether or not funding requests were more likely to originate from states with Medicaid and private insurance restrictions.
The report makes a case that paying for abortion is an undue burden on anyone who is seeking one. The results of this research suggest a need for repeal of discriminatory abortion policies and for abortion to be fully covered by all health insurance, both public and private.
The National Network of Abortion Funds (NNAF) and approximately 70 member organizations work to remove financial and logistical barriers to abortion access by centering people who have abortions and organizing at the intersections of racial, economic, and reproductive justice. The funding provided is a vital public health resource given the difficulties accessing abortion in the U.S., yet little was previously known about the impact of the assistance provided.[ii],[iii], [iv]
Read more when you download the Tiller Fund Report PDF
[i] Pazol, K., Creanga. A. A., Burley, K. D., & Jamieson, D. J. (2011). Abortion surveillance-United States. Morbity & Mortality Weekly Report, 63(ss11), 1-41.
[ii] Ely, G. E., Hales, T. W., Jackson, D. L., Maguin, G., & Hamilton, G. (in press). The undue burden of paying for abortion: An examination of abortion fund cases. SocialWork in Health Care, DOI:10.1080/00981389.2016.1263270
[iii] Ely, G. E., Hales, T. W., Jackson, D. L., Maguin, G., & Hamilton, G. (in review). Where are they from and how far must they go? Examining region and travel distance in patients with pledges for abortion funding assistance.
[iv] Ely, G. E., Hales, T.W., Jackson, D. L., Bowen, E. A., Maguin, E. & Hamilton, G. (in review). A trauma-informed examination of the hardships experienced by abortion fund patients.
