If you regularly read my blog and/or follow me on Facebook or Twitter — and if you don’t, you’re missing out on all my undisputed awesomeness — you probably know I’m once again participating in this year’s National Abortion Access Bowl-a-Thon. For the 2nd year in a row, I’m fundraising in my home state for the Eastern Massachusetts Abortion (EMA) Fund Triathlon. Huzzah!

In an earlier blog post, I shared with you the outstanding work EMA Fund — founded in 1999, an all-volunteer group of approximately 60 people who work to ensure people have access to abortion — does supporting abortion access and helping people get the healthcare they need, and what your donation will cover.

Reproductive rights are human rights. Abortion is healthcare. No one should ever be turned away from receiving medical care due to an inability to pay. So I’m raising money to help bridge the gap between healthcare and accessibility.

If you have already donated, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!! You are seriously making a huge difference in people’s lives. Collectively, the EMA Fund Triathlon teams have raised approximately $9,500 and we still need $40,000 more to reach our goal.

If you haven’t donated yet, now’s the perfect time. This weekend, (March 22-March 24) is matching weekend! You have the opportunity to double the impact of your EMA Triathlon donation.

What’s matching weekend?
Starting at 12am on Friday March 22nd, and going until 11:59pm Sunday March 24th, every donation made to the EMA Triathlon (up to $5,000) will be matched for the New Orleans Abortion Fund (NOAF). Every donation made to the EMA Fund Triathlon this Friday (3/22), Saturday (3/23), and Sunday (3/24) is also a donation for NOAF. Did you give $10? Well, you actually gave $20. $25? Now it’s actually $50. How awesome is that? You can stretch your dollars and help more people. It’s like donating twice!

Why are we supporting the New Orleans Abortion Fund (NOAF) this year?
Because NOAF is a brand new fund.  A year ago, if a person in New Orleans, or anywhere in Louisiana, needed help paying for their abortion, they had no one to call.  Now, they can call NOAF. The EMA Fund has been around for over 10 years — that’s over a decade to build a donor base, grow a volunteer corps, gain the community’s support, and break down barriers in Eastern Massachusetts. At less than six months old, NOAF is just getting started. They need our help — and EMA Fund is going to give it.

About the New Orleans Abortion Fund (NOAF):
In Louisiana…

• There are only seven abortion clinics
• Legal barriers include parental consent, a ban on abortion past 20 weeks and a 24 hour waiting period
• Doctors must read from a script, even if it goes against their medical opinion and beliefs to do so
• There is no public funding for abortion

In partnership with the National Network of Abortion Funds, the New Orleans Abortion Fund is a community-based 501(c)(3) organization rooted in social justice, with the purpose of challenging inequalities of class, race and immigrant status by providing financial help to women who cannot afford the full cost of an abortion. We affirm a woman’s right to control her body and her destiny, and work to ensure that all women have access to quality medical care, regardless of their economic situation.

How much does an abortion cost?
In 2009, the average abortion cost $451. The average cost refers to abortions performed in the first trimester. But the costs vary wildly depending on whether you go to a clinic or your physician’s office, how far along you are, and the state you live in. After the first trimester, prices skyrocket from there, running $3,0000-$6,000 and up, getting exponentially more expensive each week.

In economic recessions, healthcare access becomes even more critical. When there’s an economic recession, there’s a greater “demand for contraceptive services.” Low-income women face greater difficulties in getting safe and affordable birth control and abortion. People shouldn’t have to choose between paying for rent, childcare or groceries and their healthcare.

Once again, we’re seeing an unprecedented number of offensive, misogynistic, racist, classist, bullshit bills at the federal and state levels attempting to strip us of our reproductive rights. No one has the right to tell you what to do with your own body. Everyone has the right to shape their own life and decide what’s right for them.

Remember, it’s not a choice if you can’t choose. Whatever amount you can give will seriously make a tremendous difference. Every dollar helps. Thank you!!!