A Columbia nonprofit that pays for South Carolina women to travel out of state for abortions took in $601,369 in 2025, nearly six times its 2022 total, according to its federal tax filings. These Abortion Fund Claims highlight the increasing political energy from Democrats in these mid-term elections.
The Palmetto State Abortion Fund is now the target of anti-abortion activists. They point to a Vista bar crawl, provocative merchandise, and an undercover video they say shows a fund volunteer driving a girl she believed was 15 from the Myrtle Beach Mall to a Charleston Planned Parenthood without her parents’ knowledge.
Moreover, the rising Abortion Fund Claims have sparked significant debate in the community as whether Democrats have tipped the scale in SC elections.
What the fund does is legal under current state law. South Carolina bans most abortions after about six weeks, but no statute bars helping someone travel to another state. A 2025 Senate bill that would have criminalized that help stalled in subcommittee.
The “Abortions After Dark” crawl through Columbia’s Vista is documented only by a screenshot in the United Patriots Alliance post. No public event listing turned up; confirm the date and venues with PSAF or a participating bar.
The merchandise is real. PSAF’s own homepage links to its Bonfire and Redbubble stores and says all proceeds go to the fund. Featured designs include “This shirt helped fund an abortion.”
The “patriotic duty” shirt and the Halloween “Hex the patriarchy, Vex the GOP” line appear in the Substack’s screenshots. Redbubble blocked automated access, so check that collection by hand before quoting it.
Fundraising bar crawls are a common tactic for abortion funds; the Abortion Fund of Maryland ran its second annual one on Oct. 15, 2026.
The Myrtle Beach Mall allegation comes from an edited 11-minute video by Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust, an anti-abortion group, released Dec. 2, 2025. No abortion took place, and no independent outlet has verified the footage.
As described by Live Action News and the group’s own page:
Live Action itself said it could not verify that the texts came from PSAF or that Weir was volunteering that day. It did confirm the phone number in the texts matches PSAF’s website and that Weir has been publicly associated with the fund.
Recommendation: don’t name Weir unless she or PSAF confirms her role and she has a chance to respond.
South Carolina defines a minor for abortion purposes as a girl under 17. No one may perform an abortion on her without a parent’s consent or a family court order, known as a judicial bypass.
That law governs providers, not drivers. No South Carolina statute bars transporting a minor to an abortion appointment. H. 4514, filed May 2025, would repeal the judicial bypass; it sits in House Judiciary.
Separately, PSAF has openly raised money for minors. On Sept. 29, 2025, it posted on X that a minor patient waiting at a clinic needed $3,400, as captured by Live Action. Whether her parents consented is unknown.
Co-founder and Executive Director Ashlyn Preaux is a Pittsburgh native and a former Horry County legislative candidate. In 2025 she drew her first PSAF salary, $28,687.
The Post and Courier reported in May 2025 that PSAF partners with but is separate from Planned Parenthood, and was then entirely volunteer-run. If Preaux is paid by both, ask how the fund manages the overlap, since Planned Parenthood clinics are among those it pays.
Revenue grew 5.7 times from 2022 to 2025, nearly all of it contributions. In 2025 the fund spent $56,839 more than it raised.
| Year | Revenue | Expenses | Net assets (year end) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $601,369 | $658,208 | $127,644 |
| 2024 | $338,909 | $201,032 | $184,483 |
| 2023 | $166,888 | $141,727 | $46,046 |
| 2022 | $106,052 | $85,167 | $20,885 |
Source: IRS Forms 990 and 990-EZ via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.
Where the money goes. The Post and Courier reported PSAF funded 1,022 abortions across seven states in 2024, spending $312,859. Most clients travel to North Carolina or Virginia. Support is usually capped at $300 per person. United Patriots Alliance reports the 2025 Schedule I lists $564,713 in aid to about 1,800 recipients; confirm against the filing.
Where it comes from. The release says donors are “concentrated” in Chicago, New York and California. That overstates the record. The Post and Courier reported donations come from across the U.S., especially Chicago, California, New York and Atlanta, from about 2,000 individual donors since 2021. No public data shows what share comes from out of state; nonprofits don’t have to disclose individual donors.
Foundation grantors named in IRS grant data include the Anderson-Rogers Foundation, Lucey Charitable Foundation, Commonwealth Fund and AMJ Foundation, per Live Action.
PSAF says it exists to cover what women can’t afford, and it has said publicly it will keep operating as long as the law allows.
Critics’ case. Anti-abortion groups argue the fund undercuts the six-week law and parents’ rights, and they want the Legislature to outlaw aiding abortions. Sen. Richard Cash’s 2025 bill, S. 323, would have done that; it did not get out of subcommittee.
Public opinion. A May 2023 Winthrop Poll found 63% of South Carolinians opposed a ban on most abortions after six weeks, as reported by the Post and Courier. The state Supreme Court has upheld the law three times.
No PSAF response to the undercover video was found. Request comment before publication.
| Claim in the release | Status | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| $601,369 raised last year | Confirmed | 2025 Form 990 (ProPublica) |
| Nearly six times 2022 | Confirmed (5.7x) | 2022 990-EZ: $106,052 |
| Executive director is a Pittsburgh native | Confirmed | Ballotpedia |
| Paid by PSAF | Confirmed | $28,687 on 2025 Form 990 |
| Public appeals to pay for minors’ abortions | Confirmed (one example) | Sept. 29, 2025 X post |
| Merch slogans | Partly confirmed | Stores linked from PSAF site; specific slogans only in screenshots |
| Democratic political consultant | Partly confirmed | 2022 Democratic nominee; consulting only on LinkedIn |
| Paid by Planned Parenthood | Unconfirmed | Her LinkedIn, via United Patriots Alliance |
| “Abortions After Dark” Vista crawl | Unconfirmed | Screenshot only; date ambiguous |
| Volunteer drove a believed 15-year-old without parents’ knowledge | Allegation | Edited activist video; Live Action could not verify |
| Donors concentrated in Chicago, NY, California | Overstated | P&C: nationwide, “especially” those plus Atlanta |
The release’s framing that the fund helps women “get around” the heartbeat law is characterization: the fund pays for out-of-state care, which state law does not prohibit.
Primary records
Abortion Fund Claims – ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer: Palmetto State Abortion Fund, Forms 990 2022–2025
Abortion Fund Claims – S.C. Code Title 44, Chapter 41 (abortion; minors’ consent)
Abortion Fund Claims – S.C. H. 4514 (2025), repeal of judicial bypass
Abortion Fund Claims – Ballotpedia: Ashlyn Preaux
Abortion Fund Claims – Palmetto State Abortion Fund homepage
News reporting
Advocacy sources (anti-abortion; treat as allegations)
Context
Abortion Fund Claims – Abortion Fund of Maryland bar crawl listing (Oct. 15, 2026)
