What if you need an abortion and you don’t have the money? Believe it or not, I meet plenty of people who don’t understand how a woman can fail to come up with the $400-500 for a first –trimester procedure. That’s not such a big sum, is it? And if money’s tight, surely a woman can turn to friends, family, boyfriend?

Sometimes, yes, she can – many do that, and many also sell possessions, postpone bills, and do all the other creative things desperate people turn to when they absolutely need to raise cash. But, hello, one in eight Americans is on food stamps, people are losing their homes and their jobs all over the country, and in many states abortion restrictions and lack of providers have turned what should be a fairly simple procedure into a two-day marathon. That means travel, time off from work, child care —more money to be found. Increasingly, these days if your pockets are empty, so are those of the people you could ask for help—assuming you could ask them and not get a lecture and a shaming. Money troubles are one of the main reasons why women end up having abortions later in pregnancy — the longer it takes to raise the money, the more advanced the pregnancy and the higher the price.

Thanks heaven for the National Network of Abortion Funds, which helps low-income women pay for their abortion care all over the country. Its ability to provide support extends exactly as far as your donations, which is why I’m blogging to support the NNAF Bowl-a-thon. (It was blog or bowl, an easy choice for me.)

Can you help with a donation of any size, any size at all? Your gift, added to those of others, can help a woman through what is surely one of the most difficult times she will ever face.

Just visit this page and follow the simple instructions.

As a thank-you, I’m offering a signed copy of my book of poems, The Mind-Body Problem, to those who give $50 or more by midnight, Saturday April 16. Just send me your receipt and address and I’ll pop it in the mail.