IF/WHEN/HOW
Attorneys interested in education and volunteer opportunities can join IF/WHEN/HOW’s RJ Lawyers Network. The Network trains and mobilizes legal professionals to work for reproductive justice. Examples of reproductive justice lawyering include:
- Researching a variety of legal issued raised by the Repro Legal Helpline
- Providing state surveys on abortion access and criminalization
- Representing young people who are navigating the legal maze of forced parental involvement laws in order to access abortion care
- Providing legal services, such as reviewing contracts or leases, pro bono to local and grassroots groups committed to reproductive justice
- Representing people criminalized for self-managing their abortion
FAQs about the Network
IFW will provide an educational session if enough Temple Sinai members – active and retired lawyers – are interested. Please feel free to contact Karen Rothenberg for more information.
BALTIMORE ABORTION FUND
BAF’s volunteer roles and application are listed here.
Please sign up on their Volunteer Interest Form at the above link and a BAF team member will contact you when they have reopened volunteer applications.
Virtual volunteer needs may include volunteer case managers to help coordinate the “warmline” (where callers leave secure messages and get a call back from BAF within 24-48 hours), fundraising, and translation assistance. In-person volunteer needs may include drivers and lodging. When BAF is accepting applications, the
first step in the process to volunteer for any position at BAF is to complete the volunteer application on the web page. This will be followed by a phone screening interview and training.
If you have questions, please contact Michelle Engelmann.
DMV ABORTION PRACTICAL SUPPORT NETWORK (DAPSN)
DAPSN provides transportation, housing, and escorts to individuals seeking abortion care in DC, Virginia, and Maryland. They occasionally need volunteers to help with housing, transportation, and escort services. They are not currently recruiting new volunteers but you can check here for updates.
DC ABORTION FUND
The DC Abortion Fund makes grants to pregnant people in the DC area as well as those traveling to the area who cannot afford the full cost of an abortion. They generally have onboarding in November and April, so check here for more information or contact them at info@dcabortionfund.org.
PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF METROPOLITAN DC
PPMW is about to launch an Ambassador program which will use volunteers to increase the public’s knowledge about Planned Parenthood. In a few months they will start the application process, then provide some training and knowledge building, and then it will be up to those individuals to sign up according to their availability for public meetings, health fairs, and other outreach programs. They will be given merchandise and written materials to hand out and will be scheduled on an as-needed basis. You can sign up to learn more here.
PLANNED PARENTHOOD NATIONAL VIRTUAL VOLUNTEER TEAM
Text banking, phone banking, posting on social media. Educating people about their sexual and reproductive rights through storytelling, social media, webinars, and more. Learn more here.
WASHINGTON AREA CLINIC DEFENSE TASK FORCE
Provide escorts to ensure a peaceful and reassuring presence for patients, their companions, and staff, at several local clinics. Sign up for updates to learn about upcoming trainings. Learn more here.
I NEED AN A
Ineedana.com provides a simple, up-to-date, localized source of information for people seeking abortions across the country. From their national data base, they show people their closest clinics, abortion funds, practical support networks, etc. They have a digital volunteer program for researchers who help make sure their data is up to date and is as useful as possible. The volunteer application form can be found here.
ACLU OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
The ACLU seeks to uphold the rights of individuals to decide freely, without governmental hindrance or coercion, whether or not to bear a child. You can fill out a volunteer form and check “reproductive rights” to learn about opportunities in DC. Learn more here.
NARAL PRO-CHOICE AMERICA
For over 50 years, NARAL has led the fight for reproductive freedom, including the right to access abortion. You can sign up for information on their volunteer page.
CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
The Center for Reproductive Rights is a global human rights organization of lawyers and advocates who ensure that reproductive rights are protected. For more information on how to take action click here.
TEMPLE SINAI GET OUT THE VOTE
One small positive and impactful thing we can all do is to encourage voters to vote by joining our post card writing efforts.
Temple Sinai’s Team GOTV 2022 continues to write post cards and to make calls and (soon) texts to voters. In conjunction with the RAC’s Every Voice Every Vote Campaign, we work with Reclaim Our Vote (ROV), a volunteer-driven, nonpartisan voter outreach campaign to empower voters of color and fight voter suppression, especially in the South.
ROV supplies us with the names and addresses of voters to contact. We’ll create packets with preprinted labels, postcards, stamps, instructions, and specific text to write on each postcard.
If you wish to participate, please sign up here. More opportunities to write post cards will come as we get closer to election season.
Please contact Carole Brand for more information.