Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.

Conditions Governing Access

No special access restriction applies.

Preferred Citation

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], WV FREE Records, A&M 4508, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift from Margaret Chapman Pomponio, 2018 October 22

Biographical / Historical

West Virginia Focus: Reproductive Education and Equality, commonly known as WV FREE, is an organization based in Charlestown, West Virginia that advocates for reproductive health access and education in West Virginia. Formed in 1989 in response to increasing threats to reproductive healthcare and abortion access under former President George H.W. Bush's administration, one of WV FREE's earliest activities involved the establishment of a fund to support women getting abortions after a period of uncertainty about Medicaid funding abortions in West Virginia. This resulted in the Choice Fund in 1993, which still exists as of 2022.

The organization was, and continues to be, focused on combating legislative threats to abortion access in West Virginia through the use of grassroots activism and lobbyists. Some actions taken by WV FREE include: hiring lobbyists for legislative sessions to combat anti-reproductive healthcare legislation, organizing Student for Choice groups at high schools and colleges throughout West Virginia, hosting conferences to educate high schoolers about teen pregnancy, hosting annual Roe v. Wade commemoration and gala fundraisers, hosting the Back Up Your Birth Control Campaign, and participating in national protests supporting reproductive rights.

Scope and Contents

This collection contains materials collected or created by WV FREE between 1993 and 2010. Prominent subject matters include reproductive rights and contraceptive access in West Virginia. The collections mostly consists of newspaper clippings and newsletters.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Abortions
• Nonprofit organizations
• Reproductive rights
• WV FREE
• West Virginia Feminist Activist Collection
• Women's rights