In a comment on Reddit, Diane Rhyee appears to be an outdoor enthusiast. She pledges to welcome anyone camping near her home in the Worcester area and advises that, 鈥淢assachusetts is camper friendly.鈥�
But Rhyee isn鈥檛 actually reaching out to give campers support. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, 鈥渃amping鈥� has quickly become a code word for traveling to have an abortion. Rhyee鈥檚 messages are an offer of temporary housing and empathy to those seeking abortions.
鈥�I would let people come stay with me. I would transport. I would feed them,鈥� she said in a recent interview. 鈥淚 would hug them if they wanted a hug.鈥�
Experts predict that in the post-Roe world more people will travel across state lines to get an abortion. That鈥檚 prompted some people 鈥� like Rhyee 鈥� in states that guarantee abortion access to open their homes to those from places where restrictions are taking effect.
But as these informal offers spring up on social media, so have stern warnings not to accept 鈥� or propose 鈥� such help. In some cases, the warnings are pitting abortion rights supporters against one another.
鈥楳y Way To Try And Make The World Better鈥�
While abortion rights opponents say they would prefer to of people from out of state to come to Massachusetts for abortion care, others who disagree see an opportunity to help safely bring people in need here. Rhyee said she made the offer to host with her 15- and 16-year-old children in mind.
鈥淚 have a lot of guilt for my daughters that I gave them a world that is worse than what I had,鈥� said Rhyee. 鈥淪o I think this is my way to try and make the world better for not just my daughters, but everybody鈥檚 daughters.鈥�
Rhyee said when she thinks about the new abortion landscape, she finds herself asking, 鈥淲hat would Jesus do?鈥� And, for her, the answer is clear: 鈥淗e would help.鈥� So that鈥檚 what Rhyee is trying to do.
She鈥檚 far from the only one.
Michele Ross, of Jamaica Plain, posted a similar message of support on a Facebook group for her college alumni. She offered to pay for travel and health care for anyone who needed it, and provide lodging at her home. 鈥淚 will hold your hand and listen,鈥� she wrote. The early responses were gratifying for her.
鈥淧eople started jumping in saying, 鈥楳e too. Me too,鈥� 鈥� Ross recalled.
The comments kept coming. She estimates there were hundreds. With each person raising their hand to offer housing and help, Ross was thinking of her own abortions at age 19, 22, 23 and 25.
She feels confident she made the right choices, she said, because the situation was abusive or could have become abusive. But she wishes her experiences had been different.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 go in with a good friend or a parent or a sister. I went by myself,鈥� Ross said.
She doesn鈥檛 want others to have to face an abortion alone.
鈥�Anti-Abortion Advocates Also Have Spare Bedrooms鈥�
Kate Glynn, who co-chairs the board of directors for the Abortion Rights Fund of Western Massachusetts, appreciates the sentiment, but bristles at all the 鈥渃amping鈥� posts in the weeks since the court struck down the constitutional right to an abortion.
鈥�In the movement, we鈥檙e all very clear around how to best serve the people that we鈥檙e trying to help and center their experience, not center ourselves,鈥� Glynn said. 鈥淚f I鈥檓 offering a guest room, I鈥檓 offering that because it makes me feel good.鈥�
Instead, she believes the focus should be on the people traveling for abortion care, who often would be better served by support from experienced staff and a hotel room where they can recover from a medical procedure.
鈥�The stuff that we don鈥檛 talk about a lot is that I don鈥檛 want to be feeling those cramps on somebody else鈥檚 toilet,鈥� Glynn said. 鈥淚 would like to be in a private space where I can bleed on the sheets if that needs to happen.鈥�
Plus, she added, there鈥檚 no good way to vet private individuals and understand their motives.
鈥�Anti-abortion advocates also have spare bedrooms and also have resources that they might feel like would be helpful to trying to change someone鈥檚 mind,鈥� she said. Accepting an offer of help from a stranger runs the risk of putting someone in a distressing 鈥� or worse, dangerous 鈥� situation.
For decades, abortion funds have helped people navigate the financial and practical hurdles of accessing procedures. Glynn urged anyone who wants to help to write a check to an organization with a track record, instead of offering a room.
鈥�It is a moment that actually throwing money at the problem does actually do something,鈥� she said.
鈥業t Was Worth The Travel鈥�
Nearly half of all people who seek abortion care in the U.S. live . Katrina Kimport, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco, who studies people who must travel for abortions, said this means many turn to abortion funds, but they don鈥檛 always cover the full cost.
鈥淭hey talk about immense out-of-pocket spending,鈥� she said. 鈥�I interviewed people who were borrowing from family and friends, who were taking out of their retirement accounts, who were applying for personal loans that have exorbitant interest rates.鈥�
Despite these difficulties, Kimport鈥檚 suggests these trips 鈥� which entail at least three days away from home 鈥� can come with a silver lining.
鈥�The emotional support, the non-judgment, the compassion they received in their destination state,鈥� said Kimport. 鈥淔or some, they even went so far as to say it was worth the travel.鈥�
Kimport said very few people she鈥檚 interviewed relied on complete strangers for a place to stay. Instead, they tended to go through established institutions or their own personal networks.
So far, neither Michele Ross nor Diane Rhyee have heard from a 鈥渃amper鈥� seeking their help. And, their online comments did generate pushback. Some people warned they could be risking their own safety by opening their homes, and they might become targets for anti-abortion advocates or legal action.
鈥淚t hurt when people started responding, 鈥楧on鈥檛 do that, don鈥檛 do that!鈥� 鈥� Ross said.
Both she and Rhyee said they volunteered knowing there could be risks. And while the negative responses give them pause, their offers still stand.
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