Women’s Emergency Network was founded in 1989 so that indigent and low income women faced with a crisis pregnancy could have access to all options for resolving their crisis. Other government and non-government organizations in the community provide assistance to women who decide to complete the pregnancy and either parent the child or make an adoption plan, but no one offers support for women seeking to end the pregnancy. By offering financial subsidies for abortion to women without means, WEN assures that indigent and low income women have access to the same reproductive choices as their more affluent sisters.

With rare exception, Medicaid, the government-supported health insurance for the poor, does not fund abortion related care, and few low-income women have private health insurance that does. So women without financial means and without the physical, emotional, and/or financial capacity for motherhood are forced to carry to term simply because they do not have the money to pay for an abortion.

WEN exists to solve this problem. WEN funding helps to cover the costs of ultrasound and pre-operative laboratory work, anesthesia and attention to anxiety, post-operative medications, diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, and follow-up care. WEN clients also receive in-depth information about birth control, referrals as needed for ongoing reproductive health care and social services, and, as appropriate, referrals for free long-lasting birth control. It is important to note that all WEN clietns receive thorough options counseling and our clinics provide professional counseling to assist the client in arriving at the decision that is best for her. Through this program, our clients can resolve the dilemma of unwanted pregnancy in the way they feel best, obtain the tools they need to control their fertility and reproductive health in the future, and make contact with the community resources that can help them meet their ongoing needs.

WEN fills a unique niche in the local healthcare community as the only organization subsidizing abortion-related care in the Greater Miami area. WEN receives referrals from many sources, including Planned Parenthood, the Rape Treatment Center, Jackson Memorial Hospital, regular and alternative schools of the Miami-Dade County Public School System, dependency court, prison system, health clinics, Switchboard of Miami, and the 1-800 National Abortion Federation hotline. WEN works with Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice America, and other pro-choice organizations promoting reproductive freedom for all Americans advocating for the rights of underprivileged women and girls so that they can have access to the same reproductive health care usually reserved for those who are more affluent. As part of our commitment to self-determination, we promote the work of Advocates for Youth and SIECUS (Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States).

WEN is a mostly volunteer-run organization administered by a Board of Directors, with two-part time staffers, Executive Director Jennifer Toth, and Administrator Angela Couseillant. The WEN Board and Staff follow up with clients to evaluate their experiences, troubleshoot medical or emotional difficulties they may be experiencing, reinforce the educational message, and make necessary referrals for future care and needed social services.  With exceptionally low overhead, over 80% of the operating budget covers our programmatic work. WEN is a 501(c) 3 not-for-profit charity and a member of the National Network of Abortion Funds.

WEN has won grants from the Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation, the Health Foundation of South Florida, North Dade Medical Foundation, Dade Community Foundation, National Council of Jewish Women, the Philanthropic Fund of Adorno and Yoss, Coral Gables Congregational Church, the Women’s Fund of Miami-Dade County, and the Joseph H. and Florence Roblee, Ettinger, William J. and Tina Rosenberg, Nichols, and Jack Taylor Family foundations. WEN receives no public support. The number of women WEN can help depends solely upon the generosity of foundations, corporations, and individual donors.