Frequently Asked Questions

The Abortion Defense Network provides legal services to all abortion providers and supporters in the United States. 

• Anyone in the United States working to provide or support abortion is eligible for assistance. This includes abortion clinics, abortion funds, practical support organizations, and other reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations, as well as individual clinicians, staff members, Board members, and volunteers. Allied healthcare providers, researchers, advocates, activists, and writers are also eligible. 

All consultations are free.  In almost all cases, additional legal services are also provided for free.

• In rare cases, a client may require specialized services that we cannot provide for free.  When that happens, we will work with you to secure funding from an affiliated legal defense fund to cover the costs.

No. The Abortion Defense Network does not have a financial test for individuals, non-profit organizations, or for-profit businesses working to provide or support abortion care. 

• We know that the services we provide you ultimately benefit the hundreds of thousands of people throughout the United States who need abortions every year, the vast majority of whom face financial or other barriers to obtaining care.   
• Our goal is to offer the legal resources you need without red tape so that you can focus your time and energy on providing care and support to people seeking abortions.  

The Abortion Defense Network connects abortion providers and supporters with attorneys who have been vetted and trained to provide them with confidential legal advice, defense representation in civil proceedings, and/or defense representation in criminal proceedings.   

 The Abortion Defense Network also connects abortion providers and supporters with affiliated legal defense funds when they need funding to cover legal expenses.   

• Confidential Legal Advice: Abortion Defense Network attorneys are available to answer a wide range of legal questions that will help you or your organization provide or support abortion.  These include questions about rights and obligations under federal, state, and local laws; sources of legal risk; contingency planning; scope of practice; and organizational formation and operations. 

• Defense Representation: Abortion Defense Network attorneys are available to defend you or your organization in a wide range of civil and criminal proceedings, including investigations, subpoenas; civil lawsuits; criminal prosecutions, and administrative actions.  We encourage you to reach out immediately if you receive a subpoena, a request for information, or any other communication from one of the following sources that suggests you are the subject or target of an investigation or may be called on to provide testimony or documents:  law enforcement officers or agencies, federal or state prosecutors; federal, state, or local government agencies; adversarial attorneys; members of Congress or another legislative body; or Congressional or other legislative committees.  

• The Abortion Defense Network does not provide representation for affirmative litigation (i.e., we do not represent parties who want to file lawsuits), but we may be able to offer suggestions about attorneys who could assist with such matters. 

• Legal Funding: The Abortion Defense Network is affiliated with several legal defense funds that provide funding for legal expenses such as bail or bond fees; court fees; attorney’s fees; discovery expenses; and incidental costs such as travel expenses and translation services.  Funding may be available regardless of whether your attorney is part of the Abortion Defense Network.   

An Attorney Navigator will be in touch within 24 hours to assess your needs.

• After your confidential intake interview with one of our Attorney Navigators, we will work quickly to assign you an attorney or legal team. The amount of time it takes to make this assignment varies based on attorney availability and the urgency and complexity of your legal needs.  Assignments in active criminal matters are made on an expedited basis, and we aimto make other assignments within three weeks of the intake interview.  Your Attorney Navigator will stay in touch to keep you updated on the process. 

All attorneys in our network are vetted, trained on issues concerning abortion provision and support, and values aligned.

• Some of our attorneys come from nonprofit organizations, and some come from private law firms.  Some have specialized areas of expertise, and some are generalists.  We will match you with the attorney or attorneys that best match your needs.  In some cases, we may assemble a team of attorneys from more than one organization or firm if your needs require more than one type of expertise or require participation by an attorney licensed in a particular state.   

The Abortion Defense Network refers abortion patients and people seeking abortion care to the Repro Legal Helpline operated by If/When/How: Lawyers for Reproductive Justice.  The Repro Legal Helpline serves individuals who want or recently obtained abortion care and have legal questions or have been threatened with arrest or prosecution. 

For non-legal questions about the Abortion Defense Network, please contact us at [email protected]. If you are a lawyer interested in providing pro bono support to the Abortion Defense Network, please complete this form. Either way, someone will respond as soon as possible.