Healthcare Professionals We Need Your Help

Kentucky
REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM FUND

dedicated to maintaining and improving
access to contraception and abortion
through education, policy reform, and advocacy.

We’re Stronger Together

The Kentucky Reproductive Freedom Fund provides a platform and remains committed to empowering physicians, healthcare providers, and advocates in the fight for reproductive health and freedom for all, without government interference.

It is our mission to identify, support, and nurture the future generations of reproductive rights advocates and leaders. 

Doctors & health care professionals, consider signing our letter calling for the repeal of all abortion bans.

Abortion Bans Hurt
All Kentuckians

Kentuckians are tired of lawmakers interfering in our private medical decisions - especially when it comes to abortion or birth control. keNTUCKY’S aBORTION bANS hAVE A devastating impact on all of us.
Patients. fAMILIES. Doctors. Nurses. Everyone.

Kentucky has one of the most extreme abortion bans in the country.

The state’s law has no exceptions - placing patients’ health in danger and restricting physicians’ ability to provide the highest standard of care. 

Not only are women forced to travel hundreds of miles out of state to receive abortion care. But under abortion bans like Kentucky’s, some doctors are unable to provide care for women who experience miscarriage or ectopic pregnancies for fear of arrest and jail time. So even more women are forced to travel out of state for critical care or wait until their life is threatened to get the help they need.

Kentucky’s cruel abortion ban is forcing doctors, nurses, and medical students to flee the state. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists found that nearly 60 percent of applicants said they were “unlikely to apply for a residency in a state with abortion restrictions.” A recent survey of Kentucky’s medical students found that 73.2 % "agree" they would consider medical training in another state due to Kentucky's anti-abortion policies.

The consequences are clear: Doctors, nurses, and medical students are unwilling to live and work in a state WHose Government puts them and their patients at risk.

Kentucky is ranked 36 out of 50 for infant mortality and has the 6th highest rate of maternal mortality in the nation.

If our lawmakers truly cared about our families, they’d invest in paid maternity leave, earned sick time, affordable childcare, livable wages, and quality public education.

Instead, they’ve made abortion a crime. Kentuckians should never face an investigation or arrest for making our own medical decisions.
Not us. Not our doctors.

In 2022, Kentuckians defeated the effort to ban abortion in the state constitution.

The majority of Kentuckians have made it clear,
they want and support access to abortion.

Without federal protections, the power to protect and expand reproductive rights in Kentucky is now completely in our hands. Join the Kentucky Reproductive Freedom Fund in the fight to ensure all Kentuckians can make complex reproductive healthcare decisions free from government interference.

The Story Of The Kentucky Reproductive Fund

For over four decades, the founders of the Kentucky Reproductive Freedom Fund (KYRFF) have remained at the forefront of the fight to protect women's and patients access to abortion and contraception in Kentucky.

Dr. Ernest Marshall and his wife Ona founded the Kentucky Reproductive Freedom Fund in response to escalating attacks on Kentucky women’s reproductive rights in 2018, after decades of closely collaborating with non-profits and the ACLU. They continue to use KYRFF for education, advocacy, policy change and to keep this critical topic in the media.

The Marshalls are the former co-owners of EMW Women’s Surgical Center, a Kentucky abortion clinic founded in 1981 which later became the only standing clinic in the state and only resource for abortions after 13.6 weeks. For 43 years, EMW not only provided vital care but also trained residents and medical students until Kentucky’s trigger laws immediately banned abortion after the U.S. Supreme Court abandoned its duty to protect American’s fundamental rights and overturned Roe v. Wade.

Dr. Marshall and Ona have long been active in legal and advocacy efforts, challenging restrictive legislation and defending women's reproductive rights both as plaintiffs in the courtroom and in the media, including the post Roe case at the Kentucky Supreme Court and a 2022 case at the United States Supreme Court.

EMW and Kentucky Reproductive Rights are mentioned in the Netflix Documentary Reversing Roe released in 2018.  EMW received the National Abortion Federation - 2019 George R. Tiller "Attitude is Everything" Standard of Excellence Award. In 2020, Dr. Marshall was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Abortion Care Network. EMW and the Kentucky Reproductive Freedom Fund were awarded the Feminist Majority Foundations' Global Women's Rights Awards. Both Dr. Marshall and Ona continue to collaborate with organizations to help spread awareness, protect, and restore American’s reproductive rights.

The fight for reproductive rights is far from over. In 2022, Kentuckians decisively voted against a constitutional amendment to ban abortion yet the state's lawmakers and Supreme Court have persisted in undermining the will of the people. Kentucky remains one of 24 states that do not allow citizen-initiated ballot initiatives and Kentucky lawmakers continue to make a concerted effort to reduce citizens' power, but we will not back down.

SUPPORt The fight for abortion
ANd Contraceptive Access

without government interference.
without barriers.
without shame.

Gifts to KYRFF, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, are tax-deductible in the U.S. to the extent permitted by law.

About The Kentucky Reproductive Freedom Fund

 

What We Do

The Kentucky Reproductive Freedom Fund is dedicated to maintaining and improving access to contraception and abortion care, through education, policy reform, and advocacy.

Our Vision

We aim to shift the landscape in Kentucky and nationally to ensure women’s access to safe and dignified reproductive health care. The fund provides a platform for physicians and health care providers to fight for reproductive health and freedom for all Kentuckians.

Our Mission

We are dedicated to maintaining and improving access to contraception and abortion care. It is our mission to identify, support, and nurture the future generations of reproductive rights advocates and leaders. 

The Fight Post Roe V. Wade

  • Be Loud.

    This looks different for everyone! That’s okay. We are in this together. Whether it’s telling your story, personal conversations with friends and family, attending protests, calling your state representative, yard signs, sharing resources on social media, signing petitions, or fundraising - don’t be afraid to show your community & government how you feel about half the country losing the fundamental right to bodily autonomy.

    How You Can Help!

  • Vote.

    Do not underestimate the power of your vote at the local, state, and federal levels. While you may feel discouraged, the right to choose has been handed to the states. Your votes---Mayors, Metro Council Members, Secretary of State, Judges, County Attorneys, Sheriffs, KY state senators, KY state house of representatives--it's critical that we have state legislators that support abortion rights and all civil liberties. All of the laws and restrictions that women and providers face are due to the Kentucky Legislature restricting women's rights and equality.

    Register To Vote!

  • Donate.

    The United States Supreme Court (Dobbs) decision and increased hostility from anti-abortion protestors mean that every single dollar donated goes towards the protection of patients and their right to reproductive freedom in Kentucky and the rest of the United States of America.

    Donate!

Need Reproductive Healthcare In Kentucky?

WE RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING HELPFUL RESOURCES:

  • Kentucky Health Justice Network (KHJN)
    855-576-4576

    KHJN’s Support Fund is a practical support abortion fund providing assistance with procedure funding, transportation, lodging, childcare, and language interpretation.

    Their hotline is staffed by volunteers committed to connecting individuals and families in Kentucky to reproductive healthcare information and services. All volunteers are actively trained to provide you with non-judgmental, factual information on pregnancy, abortion, and adoption. Services are FREE and CONFIDENTIAL.