ST. LOUIS — Some area business owners say the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade inspired them to donate a portion of their sales to statewide abortion rights groups.
Two area business owners say the news of the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was hard to stomach.
“I was absolutely horrified. I was crying,” said Sugar Monster Bakery owner Ashley Jaworski.
The Lucky Accomplice owner and chef Logan Ely said he felt, “Sad, angry. I don’t really think it matters how it makes me feel. I think it’s obviously hard for me to relate how all the women around me feel.”
So they decided to use their businesses to raise money for the Missouri Abortion Fund.
Jaworski said for every $5 she receives, people will get a chance to win customized cookies for an upcoming event.
“It’s not the business of the state. It’s not the business of the federal government and so I just felt like I had to do my part to help people out who maybe can’t fund their abortion or don’t know who to look for,” Jaworski said.
Ely said they will be donating a portion of their overall sales and accepting direct donations for at least the next two weeks.
“There’s something to be said about mixing politics and business and I get that a lot of businesses kind of stay away from things like that. And that’s fine but for us here we just think it’s important to kind of do something with what we have for the community,” Ely said.
St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones said in a post to Twitter that she believes abortion bans at the state level are going to make it harder to attract businesses to Missouri. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said in a Tweet a business has already backed out of setting up shop because of this.
“The more restrictive that our state gets, the less people want to live here. So as a small business owner, it just gets harder and harder to want to be in Missouri," Jaworski said. "I love St. Louis. I love the community that we’ve built here, but it feels like it’s becoming unsustainable to stay here when our civil rights are being stripped away."
To donate to the raffle through Sugar Monster Bakery, click here to go to Jaworski's Venmo.
To donate through The Lucky Accomplice, all customers need to do is buy a drink or a meal at the restaurant.