Open homes to get an abortion

[Inna22]

This is NOT a political post and I respect everyone's views on Roe vs Wade as I do on all matters. Airbnb however has been very political (and not in a good way). This cause should align with their values and here is a real chance to do good. I hope they will include getting an abortion in another state as a qualifier for Open homes. Some people will now have to travel very far to get one and might not have the means to rent a place to stay.

[Emily1676]

I would be very interested in a program to host anyone traveling out of state for an abortion.  I typically rent my entire home out, but I would happily stay on-site to provide aftercare, pick-up and drop off, and any other support needed.

[Inna22]

@Emily1676 that is very kind of you. Most might not even need the care, just a place to stay the night before and/or after

[Emily1676]

I contacted our local Planned parenthood to see if there is a list I could join to donate housing and airline miles.

[Sarah4648]

Emily, can you please let us know what you mind out? Thank you 

[Toshiko8]

Take a look at www.withGloria.org. They are partnering with Planned Parenthood as a way for us to donate lodging to patients traveling long distances. They are in pilot phase now but you can still sign up to donate lodging once it is offered in your city!

[Leanne236]

Same, would love it if there was a discreet way for us to offer to give women a place in their travel to obtain reproductive care. I’ve added it to my listing but don’t know how effective it will be. 

AirBnB should also give women the ability to give reviews afterwards to alert others to those that tried to persuade them to cancel their appointments. (Trying to use vague langue intentionally here) Also provide a number with someone who can quickly help a woman staying with a host that is unduly influencing them.

[Toshiko8]

Take a look at www.withGloria.org. They are a nonprofit partnering with Planned Parenthood as a way for us to donate lodging to patients traveling long distances. They are in pilot phase now but you can still sign up to donate lodging once it is offered in your city!

[Anonymous]

@Inna22  As someone who will never have to make this choice with my own body, I think my opinion on this shouldn't count for much, but I completely agree with you on the moral issue at play here. This SC decision is horrific, and it will make the home states of many women and girls hostile territory in ways that can pose dire threats to their lives. If Airbnb extended the Open Homes program to abortion refugees, I'd gladly donate to support the hosts who earnestly pitched in.

One concern I'd have specific to the absurd situation in the US is that several organizations have already gotten very clever at luring people into anti-choice facilities when they do Google searches for abortion clinics, and psychologically abused them when they turned up. I'd be very afraid of hosts who might use the same tactics against vulnerable women when they seek a safe harbor on Airbnb, especially against the backdrop of a drastic rise in violent attacks against clinics and patients in the past year. And if Airbnb did take a public position on this issue, the CC will have to brace itself for another onslaught of troll posts from the followers of Tucker Carlson the next time that whiny little piece of excrement froths at the mouth about something Airbnb does that triggers him. They might not have the appetite for social media warfare on a topic as divisive as this one.

I hate that it's come to this, but there might need to be a sort of Underground Railroad for women in the US, and I'm not sure that a for-profit corporation is the ideal partner in this nightmare scenario. If you hear of a good program to assist people in this situation and keep them safe, let me know and I'll get a check ready.

[Inna22]

@Anonymous Overall it appears that Airbnb does what they think is morally right which is admirable even if I do not agree with them on the causes they choose. I can only hope they are on the right side here (as in good, not political right).

You bring up a very valid point, one I did not think about. Some activists will go through a great length to deter someone from having an abortion. I am thinking if these women have no other option, they are not getting a wanted abortion either way unless they are helped. If they end up being talked out of it, they are back where they started. If they end up in a good home, it is one more person helped.

In light of the forum being low on activity lately, I might enjoy provoking some trolls for fun. 

[Debra48]

I dare anyone to mess with me in my Laurel Canyon home for deciding to shelter a woman who travels to California for an abortion. 

[Lisa723]

@Inna22 @Anonymous 

https://brigidalliance.org/

[Anonymous]

@Lisa723   Thank you for the link; that sounds like what I was looking for, and I can picture an organization like this being the intermediator between guests in need and Airbnb hosts that can protect each other's privacy in the event of legal peril.

I clicked on the Donate page, and this was an eye-opening detail:

 "We are currently helping 125+ clients per month, with an average cost of $1,250/client."

Wow. It's so expensive not having universal healthcare and basic human rights.

[Lisa723]

@Anonymous no kidding.

At least until things get even worse, abortion bans in the US target primarily women without the resources to travel-- in other words precisely those women least prepared (financially) to care for children, and the most likely to be pushed into a lifetime of poverty by being forced to give birth.

Of course, women of any economic class may also need emergency life-saving care and be unable to get it.

[Anonymous]

@Lisa723   Yeah, this is why I'm not quite ready to heap laurels on the companies that are offering to pay for their employees to travel for abortions. My question to them is, are you making sure all of your employees (and outsourced contractors) receive a living wage, with paid family leave, and supporting access to affordable child care and universal health care? Or are you actually creating the circumstances that make it impossible for your workers to afford to care for an additional family member?

Based on some back-of-the-napkin calculations, in every case I can find the answer is the latter, including Airbnb. So while we shouldn't refuse any support we can get, I can't say I'm impressed.