Wildfang Is Trying To Save South Dakota’s Last Abortion Clinic

The clothing company has crowd-funded over forty thousand dollars in three days.

photo from @nerdliness and @wearewildfang on Twitter

January 22 marked the 45th anniversary of Roe v. Wade—the Supreme Court decision that granted women the right to an abortion under the 14th Amendment.

Oregonians have ample reason to celebrate the momentous court decision. According to 2014 data from the Guttmacher Institute, there are 27 Oregon facilities that provide abortions.

Conversely, in states like Kentucky, West Virginia, Mississippi, Wyoming, North Dakota and South Dakota there is only one abortion clinic statewide.

In conservative South Dakota—where every branch of the government is pro-life and in 2011 a bill introduced into the state's legislature would have allowed abortion doctors to be tried for homicide—the one remaining abortion clinic is especially imperiled.

But Wildfang, the Portland-based clothing retailer that originated the popular "Wild Feminist" brand, wants to save it.

Photo via Indiegogo.

"The women [in South Dakota] have to travel 300 or 400 miles to seek [abortion] services," CEO Emma Mcilroy said in a video statement, "If we don't care about women in South Dakota, and women in other states beyond our own, then we have a much bigger problem."

An Indiegogo campaign her company launched on Sunday for the Sioux Falls Planned Parenthood Clinic has already raised over $40,000.

"We refuse to stand by and watch as millions of women lose access to abortion services," the campaign description reads. "Let's not post angry quotes on Instagram or Facebook. Let's take action."

To incentivize online giving, Wildfang has also rolled out a line of "We're Not Going Back" products—pens, a hat, shirt and sweatshirt—that people get when they donate different amounts. According the Indiegogo page, 80 percent of the funds raised will go directly to the clinic.

The "We're Not Going Back" campaign will be live for one more month. And the company hopes to raise $750,000—which it says will keep the South Dakota Planned Parenthood Clinic open for one year.

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