Last year, more than a million women in this country had an abortion. Most used medications to end a pregnancy, but after 11 weeks it’s too late for that, which is why 9,340 women came to Virginia. Jesse Torrey is with the Blue Ridge Abortion Fund, which provides $25,000 a week to women in need.
“We pay for flights. We play for plane tickets. We reimburse for gas. Sometimes we help people get tires fixed, so that they can get here,” she explains.
Another organization depends on volunteers to provide transportation. Michelle – who asked that we not use her last name – says during the Jim Crowe era Black travelers found welcoming hotels through something called The Green Book, so she and a friend founded The Green Cab – for women from other states or places in Virginia where abortion services are not available.
“A lot of them are Black women, people of color, who are coming into our state seeking care. Our grandparents used the Green Book to seek care.”
More than 50 people have volunteered, and Jesse Torrey says they are trained to do more than drive.
“Not just to give people a ride but to be a non-judgmental supportive person who knows what’s going on, who can take a person to their appointment and then take them back home, or pick them up from their hotel and then take them back to the airport, so that they can get on with their lives,” Torrey says.
On May 23rd, Indivisible Charlottesville will host a benefit for The Green Cab, the Blue Ridge and New River Abortion Funds – joining more than 100 groups nationwide raising money to ensure women have choice.
For more information: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-other-words-benefit-for-reproductive-freedom-tickets-1334336429179?msockid=33121b4dce4769bc2c730ba6cf5568ca
