National Abortion Federation president discusses challenges facing healthcare workers and providers
Brittany Fonteno, leader of the National Abortion Federation, discusses how the Trump administration has affected abortion clinics with its policies on EMTALA and the FACE Act.
(Brittany Fonteno, president and CEO of the National Abortion Federation)
Abortion workers have seen radical shifts in federal policy since the Trump Administration assumed office a little more than a month ago. The president has placed less emphasis on safety and preserving medical options.
Brittany Fonteno is president and Chief Executive Officer of the National Abortion Federation, which is the nation’s leading association of abortion providers. She took some time to discuss with me the recent decision of the Justice Department to file a motion to dismiss its lawsuit against the state of Idaho over its abortion ban, which President Joe Biden contended had conflicted with the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act mandating abortions in life-saving situations in emergency rooms.
“We're expecting that this is just the beginning,” Fonteno said. “We are unfortunately prepared for many more attacks. We anticipate that the abortion access landscape will get much more fraught before it gets better. But we've been preparing, and we're ready to fight to make sure that everyone has access to the care they need.”
While the federal lawsuit will be dropped, St. Luke’s Hospital in Idaho anticipated the move and filed a complaint in January that challenged the abortion ban on the same grounds. So, the litigation will continue, though the federal government won’t carry it on.
“We have a federal government that has made it clear that their priority is not the health and safety of women and pregnant people,” Fonteno said. “It's an anti-abortion agenda. And so we have to see how this plays out and how the courts continue to move this through the process.”
The NAF runs the largest abortion fund in the country. They have a national hotline people can call to request money to cover different expenses associated with abortions. In 2024, they funded 111,000 women’s treatment. They have provided more than 55 million to patients to pay for care and multi-millions to cover travel.
Most of the people they support are lower-income earners. The majority are people of color. A sizable number are younger and previous parents who can’t afford another child.
One of the more underreported stories is the Trump Administration’s handling of antiabortion harassment and terrorism. The president pardoned 23 people convicted of violating the act in the first week of his second term. Some of the offenses committed include breaking into clinics, stealing fetal tissue, and accosting pregnant patients.
His Justice Department also ordered cutbacks on the number of prosecutions of people accused of violating the Freedom to Access Clinic Entrances Act, which protects reproductive healthcare facilities and providers from violence and intimidation. The law was passed in 1994 following the assassination of Dr. David Gunn, who performed abortions in Florida.
“It is such a profound message that is being sent to abortion providers and to people who need reproductive health care,” Fonteno said. “And the message is that the federal government is okay with the violence and disruption against health care providers and patients.”