The Iowa Abortion Access Fund is powered by a dedicated board, volunteers, donors, and community partners who believe abortion access is essential healthcare.
Together, we work to ensure Iowans can access the care they need with dignity and support.
Community support makes our work possible.
Every donation helps remove barriers to care by funding abortion procedures, supporting patient assistance, and sustaining our mission throughout Iowa and the Quad Cities.
Abortion access doesn’t exist in a vacuum.
IAAF works to educate communities, amplify reproductive justice voices, and advocate for a future where all people can access the care they need without shame or restriction.
Community support makes our work possible.
Every donation helps remove barriers to care by funding abortion procedures, supporting patient assistance, and sustaining our mission throughout Iowa and the Quad Cities.
From humble beginnings of offering $200 grants and loans to a full-scale wraparound organization that handles everything from procedural costs to travel and childcare, we understand that accessibility is more than just money; it’s time. (MORE)
From community fundraisers to educational programs, our events bring people together to support abortion access and reproductive justice across Iowa.
Join us, learn with us, and help sustain this work.
The Iowa Abortion Access Fund was founded in 1978 and is the second-oldest abortion fund in the country. At the time of our founding, Iowans had more reproductive rights than they do today.
IAAF began with a tight-knit group of compassionate community members in Cedar Rapids—clergy, healthcare providers, parents, and neighbors who had seen what happened when people were denied the ability to make decisions about their own bodies and futures. They decided to do something about it.
The group pooled their resources and began providing $200 loans to women who needed help paying for abortion care. Recipients were asked to repay what they could, when they could, so that the same money could help the next person who needed it. What began as neighbors helping neighbors in Cedar Rapids eventually grew to serve people throughout Iowa.
Originally known as the Iowa Medical Aid Fund, the organization was shaped in its earliest years by the passion and commitment of the Ely family and a small community of Iowans who understood a truth that still guides our work today: legal abortion means very little if people cannot afford to access it.
Iowa’s abortion restrictions have forced many people to travel out of state for care, increasing the financial burden of accessing an abortion.
For patients already struggling to make ends meet, costs can quickly become overwhelming. Travel expenses, missed work, childcare, lodging, and medical costs create barriers that prevent people from getting the care they need.
That’s where IAAF comes in.
Every year, we help hundreds of people overcome those barriers and access abortion care with dignity, compassion, and support. We believe healthcare decisions belong to patients—not politicians—and we remain committed to reproductive justice for all.
