Oregon clothing company raises funds for South Dakota Planned Parenthood clinic

An Oregon clothing company has raised well over $25,000 for South Dakota’s only abortion clinic.

Wildfang is a Portland-based company founded by two former Nike employees. It markets t-shirts, shoes, hats and accessories on its site, many of which bear feminist messages.

Over the weekend, the company launched a campaign to “save the last abortion clinic in South Dakota” as a way to mark the 45th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court case that legalized abortion nationwide.

Wildfang is promoting its fundraising push at the top of its website under a white billboard announcing “we’re not going back” in black capital letters. The campaign also includes six billboards, including one on South Minnesota Avenue in Sioux Falls.

The funds raised – $25,990 as of Monday at 3:30 p.m. – are meant to not only help Planned Parenthood pay the doctors who travel to South Dakota to perform abortions at its Sioux Falls clinic, but also to help pay for legal battles.

Wildfang CEO Emma McIlroy said Monday she was pleased to see that the 30-day campaign was halfway toward its $50,000 goal on the first day.

“Our goal is to raise as much money as possible for South Dakota,” McEIlroy said.

The idea that the donations are needed to save the clinic is a bit of a misnomer. Planned Parenthood says it is pleased to see the support, but its Sioux Falls clinic was not in danger of closing.

Even so, the director of Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota said access to legal abortion is particularly at risk in South Dakota, “where legislators have worked tirelessly to make it as difficult as possible to access abortion, many women can’t get the care they need.”

“It is because of the generous supporters in South Dakota – and supporters nationwide like Wildfang – that Planned Parenthood is able to serve the needs of South Dakota women,” said Director Sarah Stoesz.

South Dakota is one of seven states with a single abortion provider. The company intends to raise funds for all seven states this year, with the South Dakota campaign marking the first. The other states are Kentucky, West Virginia, Missouri, Wyoming, North Dakota and Mississippi.

The Oregon company chose South Dakota in part because of its 72-hour waiting period for an abortion, which McIlroy said means women sometimes travel 300 miles for the procedure.

“It makes it really harrowing for those women, an incredibly difficult experience,” McIlroy said.

McIlroy called the 1973 case “arguably one of the most important decisions in women’s rights in the last 100 years” during an interview she conducted with Roe v. Wade attorney Sarah Weddington. The interview was posted on the company’s blog on Friday.

Many South Dakota lawmakers have long opposed Roe v. Wade. On Monday, the decision’s 45th anniversary, Sen. Stace Nelson, R-Fulda, introduced a resolution “providing all pre-born children their God-given right to exist” and affirming the legislature’s commitment to providing that protection.

U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem, who is now running for governor, issued a statement on the anniversary saying she’s committed to pro-life positions. Her primary opponent, Attorney General Marty Jackley, addressed South Dakota Right to Life’s 45th Annual “Hour of Reflection” over the weekend and tweeted his support for the group again on Monday.

Planned Parenthood has battled the State of South Dakota in federal court for years over legislative restrictions.

The group challenged the 72-hour waiting period in 2011, winning an injunction against both that rule and a requirement that women who seek an abortion first visit a crisis pregnancy center.

The group dropped its challenge to the waiting period in 2012, but the challenge to the pregnancy center requirement has yet to be resolved. The most recent action came just last week, when Judge Karen Schreier extended deadlines until summer.