Abortion Access Front (formerly Lady Parts Justice League) is a left-of-center abortion advocacy group and a project of NEO Philanthropy, a funding and fiscal sponsorship nonprofit ¹ Abortion Access Front was the 501(c)(3) arm of the 501(c)(4) lobbying group Abortion Access Force, a project of the Sixteen Thirty Fund, which is defunct as of 2025. ² The organization was founded by Lizz Winstead, the co-creator of “The Daily Show.” ^{3 4}

Background

Lizz Winstead, a comedian and co-creator of “The Daily Show,” founded Lady Parts Justice League in 2015. The group began touring the country in 2016 to build support for abortion and for abortion clinics by traveling the country to perform comedy shows in support of abortion. ⁵ The group began as a project of the Arabella Advisors-managed New Venture Fund. ⁶ It later transferred its sponsor to NEO Philanthropy. ⁷

In May 2019, it was announced that Lady Parts Justice League would be renamed Abortion Access Front (AFF). ⁸ The group later claimed the change was made to be more “inclusive” toward transgender activists. It further stated, “Let’s be clear: not all ladies have uteruses. And not everyone with a uterus identifies as a lady. Full stop.” ⁹

Activities

Vagical Mystery Tour

In July 2019, AFF announced that it would expand the “Vagical Mystery Tour” from a summer program to a year-round program beginning in September 2019. The tour featured members of the nonprofit driving to abortion clinics throughout the country to entertain staff with comedy events, to do yard work, and to provide general support ^{3 10}

Abortion AF: The Tour

Abortion Access Front has a year-round comedy and music tour based on United Service Organizations (USO) tours that are conducted for U.S. soldiers serving overseas. The tour, called “Abortion AF: The Tour,” travels across America to show support for abortion providers and their communities. ⁹

An “Abortion AF: The Tour” performance begins with a stand-up comedy routine by feminist comedians that makes fun of pro-life activists and pro-life stances opposing abortion. The performers drop pro-abortion activist talking points during the performance. The show then shifts to a presentation by abortion providers and pro-abortion groups describing the problems they face in maintaining and expanding access to abortion.  The clinics also focus on the challenges they face in staying open. Then the pro-abortion advocacy groups ask the audience for volunteers and to donate money to abortion funds. Part of the purpose of the show is to destigmatize abortion and make it more supported in the culture. ⁴

Bro v. Wade

In 2022, Abortion Access Front began a show called “Bro v. Wade” which gathers white, mostly middle-aged, male comedians to perform pro-abortion comedy shows. The group assembled the lineup because statistically the most pro-life demographic in America is middle-aged white males and the group wanted to put out a counternarrative. As of February 2023, the show has performed for two fundraisers for AAF and independent abortion providers. ¹¹

Podcast

The group hosts a weekly podcast, Feminist Buzzkills Live!, which is hosted by Lizz Winstead, Moji Alawode-El, and Marie Khan, that tackles “patriarchy’s evil trilogy of misogyny, white supremacy, and anti-abortion extremism.” ¹²

Act for Women Coalition

Abortion Access Front is a member of the “Act for Women” coalition that supported the passage of the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2021 in the U.S. House which would have dramatically expanded abortion access across the United States. The bill was based on the “reproductive justice” framework which combats “systems of oppression, lack of bodily autonomy, white supremacy, and anti-Black racism,” as well as “enslavement, rape, and experimentation on Black women.” The legislation also sought to promote abortion to transgender men and non-binary individuals. ¹³ The legislation did not pass the U.S. Senate. ¹⁴

Opposition To Crisis Pregnancy Centers

Abortion Access Front hosts a campaign called #ExposeFakeClinics which attacks pro-life crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs). The group attacks crisis pregnancy centers for persuading women not to have abortions. The group also attacks CPCs for not providing “comprehensive reproductive health care” and attacks them for receiving taxpayer dollars from states that fund alternatives to abortion. The group urges its supporters to leave negative reviews of CPCs, to protest CPCs, and to report CPCs for false advertising and fraud. The group runs a petition drive to urge Georgia to stop funding CPCs. The group’s website hosting the campaign has a chatbot named Charley which provides information on how to get an abortion, and the website features other resources to encourage women to get abortions. ¹⁵

Controversy

In June 2020, Abortion Access Force co-founder Lizz Winstead appeared on The Margaret Cho podcast and compared unborn babies to cancer. Winstead said, “When they’re like, ‘Life begins at conception, I’m like A. conception is not a medical term, it’s a term that comes from the Bible,” she said. “But B., like, I don’t subscribe to your premise on any level. And so, when you say, ‘What about, it’s a life with different DNA,’ and it’s like, ‘Cancer has different DNA.’” Winstead also argued that life depends on the mother’s feelings towards her pregnancy. “You get to decide the value of your own pregnancy,” she said. “If the pregnancy that you have is a pregnancy that is unintended and not a pregnancy that you intend on carrying, then there is no mother, there is no baby.” But “if you are pregnant and you’re excited and you want to have a kid, you can put all the value on that pregnancy you want for yourself.” Winstead went on to joke about her three abortions, calling them just a medical procedure and stating that she “[didn’t] save receipts” in response to a man asking her how many abortions she had. ¹⁶

Leadership

Lizz Winstead is the founder and chief creative officer of Abortion Access Front. She is a former co-creator and head writer for “The Daily Show” and a co-founder of the left-of-center Air America Radio. She previously hosted a show on Air America Radio, “Unfiltered,” with Chuck D and Rachel Maddow. Winstead was also the co-founder of Abortion Access Front’s sister group, Abortion Access Force, which folded in December 2021. ¹²

1. “Donate.” Abortion Access Front. Accessed June 14, 2019. https://www.aafront.org/donate/?eType=ActivityDefinitionInstance&eId=312b4a90-62c5-4478-8684-4928ef9f4afc
2. “Sixteen Thirty Fund.” OpenCorporates. Accessed January 11, 2019. https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_dc/EXTUID_2696217.
3. “Abortion AF: The Tour.” High Noon Saloon, n.d. https://www.high-noon.com/event/9532405/abortion-af-the-tour/.
4. Alterman, Amy E. “Abortion AF: Introducing Abortion Access Front’s Comedy-Based Health Intervention.” Center for the Study of Women, January 26, 2021. https://csw.ucla.edu/2021/01/26/abortion-af-introducing-abortion-access-fronts-comedy-based-health-intervention/
5. Winstead, Lizz. “I Helped Create ‘The Daily Show’: Now, I’m Fighting for Abortion Access.” Rolling Stone, November 19, 2023. https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/lizz-winstead-daily-show-creator-abortion-access-front-no-one-asked-you-doc-1234886613/.
6. “Americans For Public Trust.” X (Twitter), May 29, 2025. https://x.com/apublictrust/status/1928181120832557554.
7. “Donate.” Abortion Access Front. Accessed July 10, 2025. https://www.aafront.org/donate/?eType=ActivityDefinitionInstance&eId=312b4a90-62c5-4478-8684-4928ef9f4afc
8. “Millions in Dark Money Flows to Pro-Abortion Groups.” Washington Free Beacon. June 12, 2019. Accessed June 14, 2019. https://freebeacon.com/issues/millions-in-dark-money-flows-to-pro-abortion-groups/.
9. “About US .” Abortion Access Front. Accessed June 23, 2025. https://www.aafront.org/about-us/.
10. “Tour.” Abortion Access Front, August 13, 2019. https://www.aafront.org/the-abortion-af-tour/.
11. Kiszla, Cameron. “White Men Stand up for Abortion Rights at ‘Bro v. Wade’ in Highland Park.” KTLA, February 15, 2023. https://ktla.com/news/local-news/white-men-stand-up-for-abortion-rights-at-bro-v-wade-in-highland-park/.
12. “Lizz Winstead – Co Host – Feminist Buzzkills Live! Podcast .” LinkedIn. Accessed June 23, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizz-winstead-5b967113/.
13. Ludwig, Hayden. “The Left-Wing Activists behind the Most Sweeping Abortion Bill in US History.” Capital Research Center, October 7, 2021. https://capitalresearch.org/article/the-left-wing-activists-behind-the-most-sweeping-abortion-bill-in-us-history/.
14. “H.R.3755 – 117th Congress (2021-2022): Women’s Health Protection Act of 2021 | Congress.Gov | Library of Congress.” Congress.gov. Accessed July 10, 2025. https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3755.
15.  “Expose Fake Clinics.” Expose Fake Clinics. Accessed June 23, 2025. https://www.exposefakeclinics.com/.
16. Cooke, Cassy. “‘The Daily Show’ Founder Comedian Lizz Winstead Likens Babies in the Womb to Cancer.” Live Action News, June 4, 2020. https://www.liveaction.org/news/comedian-lizz-winstead-babies-cancer-abortion/.