Yellowhammer Fund sees busiest month since resuming abortion aid

The Yellowhammer Fund saw its busiest month in April since resuming abortion assistance last year after a legal battle with Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall halted operations.

Kelsea McLain, the organization’s health care access director, said April was the first month the fund’s call volume began to resemble levels seen before Roe v. Wade was overturned.

“I think April was the first month that we saw a hint of what our normal call volume is actually supposed to look like,” McLain said. “It goes to show that we’ve done good work in making sure people know that we exist and that we actually are here and can support abortion access after that long period of us being silent on that issue.”

Yellowhammer Fund suspended abortion funding operations after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The organization later sued Marshall after he suggested groups helping Alabama residents obtain abortions in states where the procedure remained legal could face criminal conspiracy charges.

Federal Judge Myron Thompson ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in 2025, preventing Alabama officials from prosecuting organizations for helping residents seek legal abortions in other states. The ruling allowed Yellowhammer Fund to resume providing logistical and financial support to patients traveling for care.

McLain said the shutdown had lasting effects.

Before Dobbs, Yellowhammer Fund received between 75 and 100 calls each week. When it resumed operations in March 2025, call volume had fallen to three to five calls per week.

“Damage was clearly done by that closure,” McLain said.

McLain said the organization spent the past year rebuilding awareness and reconnecting with patients and clinics throughout the region.

“We know that these people have been out there and they’ve been needing our support,” McLain said. “Just reaching them and making sure they know about us has been the big challenge.”

McLain said April’s increase was partly tied to expanded outreach and clinic partnerships. She also pointed to a change by the National Abortion Federation’s hotline, which had previously covered the full cost of procedures for qualifying patients also supported by Yellowhammer Fund in Alabama and Mississippi.

McLain said the hotline scaled back that level of support at the end of March, shifting more of the financial burden to local abortion funds.

Previously, most people contacting Yellowhammer Fund needed help with transportation. Since April, McLain said nearly every caller has needed help paying both travel expenses and the procedure itself.

Many patients assisted by Yellowhammer Fund travel hundreds of miles for care, with Chicago and Washington, D.C., among the most common destinations. Costs often include airfare, hotel stays and the procedure itself. McLain estimated the average patient requires between $2,000 and $2,500 in assistance.

“The lowest round-trip ticket I can usually find for someone leaving Birmingham, for example, is around $900 per person,” McLain said.

McLain said the organization established what she described as a “healthy” budget when it resumed operations. She estimated the group’s annual budget at roughly $225,000 and said spending remains manageable because demand was lower than expected earlier in the year.

McLain said political and legal developments surrounding medication abortion could continue to affect patient behavior.

Marshall has recently targeted companies that distribute abortion pills by mail to Alabama residents. McLain said many residents may incorrectly assume medication abortion through out-of-state providers is no longer available.

“I know that people are aware of the news, and at the same time, I think the news does a really terrible job of letting people know what’s at stake, but what’s currently happening,” McLain said.

McLain said she expects ongoing legal fights and headlines surrounding medication abortion to create confusion, leading more patients to seek out-of-state care even when other options may be available.