About WEN

Women's Emergency Network is dedicated to the reproductive freedom of indigent and low-income women and girls in South Florida facing an untenable pregnancy. In order for these women and girls to have access to the full range of reproductive choices, Women's Emergency Network provides options counseling, birth control education, subsidies for abortion and related reproductive health care, and, as needed, referrals to ongoing care and services.

Women's Emergency Network was founded in 1989 by a few caring women who realized that, because of funding realities, reproductive freedom was an empty promise for those without financial means.

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 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 is dedicated to making sure that these women, like those who are more affluent, have access to the full range of reproductive choices. Accordingly, WEN provides unbiased counseling to help them understand their options and sort through their feelings. Most choose to terminate their pregnancies, and WEN helps them pay for their abortions. Those who choose to complete their pregnancies receive referrals for ongoing medical care and needed social services.

Clients who choose termination receive 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. They also receive in-depth information about birth control, referrals for ongoing reproductive health care, and, as appropriate, samples of emergency contraception and routine birth control pills.

Through this program, we strive to help our clients resolve the dilemma of unwanted pregnancy in the way they feel best, provide them with the tools they need to control their fertility and reproductive health in the future, and connect them 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 volunteer-run organization administered by a pro-bono executive director.  Specially trained volunteers provide intake counseling, make referrals to clinics, and follow up with clients to evaluate their experiences.  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.