In 1976, three years after the Supreme Court handed down the Roe v. Wade decision to legalize abortion in the United States, Congress passed the Hyde amendment–which, in one fell swoop, overturned Roe v. Wade for millions of low-income American women. The amendment, named for Congressman Henry Hyde (R-IL and 30 years later, still fighting access to safe abortion), forbids federal funding for abortion unless a woman's pregnancy is life-threatening, or unless it's is a result of rape or incest. Before the passage of the Hyde amendment, federal Medicaid paid for one-third of all abortions. Since 1977, it has paid for virtually none.

Coming up with the money to pay for an abortion–which costs anywhere from $300-$600 in the first trimester to $500-$5000 in the second–can be especially challenging for women who are struggling to feed the kids they already have. This scenario is particularly inhumane in light of our culture's tendency to blame all manner of social problems on women who have too many children, while simultaneously denying them the means to avoid unwanted pregnancies (not to mention access to affordable childcare!). Also, last I checked, rights aren't really rights if you need money to access them–I think the correct term for those kinds of rights is "privileges".

Since lawmakers are often too busy restricting women's access to abortion to devote sufficient time to ensuring that women who are legally entitled to abortions can get them, advocates for reproductive justice have had no choice but to cook up creative ways to help women realize their rights. For example, the National Network of Abortion Funds (NNAF) raises money for low-income women who can't afford to pay for a safe abortion on their own, and raises awareness on how abortion links to economic justice. To mark the 30th anniversary of the Hyde amendment, NNAF has just launched The Hyde Campaign, because 30 years is enough, and who wants to live in a country where rights come with a price tag? Access a list of participating organizations here.