CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Halfway through every month, the Carolina Abortion Fund runs out of money.The fund, which helps pay for abortions and related expenses, never has been able to aid all the people who request support. Before the Supreme Court overturned nearly 50 years of abortion rights last June, the fund turned away roughly 100 people a month. Since then, it has closed its phone lines on at least twice as many callers, and possibly many more.Most of the hundreds of unanswered calls are from people seeking money to travel to North Carolina from states that have banned or severely restricted abortion. They are often parents of young children and living in poverty. They either have to scrounge for other ways to pay for their abortions, wait until the next month if they can, or carry their pregnancies to term.
