The Wild West Access Fund of Nevada, founded in June of 2021 by Carla Ramazan and Maureen Scott, is the only established abortion fund in the state. Primarily located in Reno and Las Vegas, the mutual aid turned 501(c)(3) group provides funding and resources to people seeking an abortion. So far, they’ve helped over 70 callers with access and aftercare. The group is entirely volunteer-run, and nobody is paid for their involvement.
Founders Scott and Ramazan were both present at the recent Reno rally, along with other volunteers. Ramazan gave a five minute speech sharing some of their anonymous callers’ backgrounds and stories. One caller was facing eviction, but needed an abortion. Another was too young to have their own bank account.
“When we first started, we got some feedback on the name,” Scott said. “They were like, ‘Why are you making Wild West Fund for abortion, like it shouldn’t be wild, you guys should make it very clear it’s about abortion and it’s about care,’ and all this stuff. And I think, like the more that we’ve grown, it really like encapsulates abortion funding as a whole in Nevada, because we are like brand new. There's no framework for how to fund abortion in Nevada, because there hasn’t been a long, large, well established fund here. So we're learning as we go, which is like the wild west.”
The group focuses on using gender neutral language regarding abortion. One of the contributors to their success so far has been their social media and internet presence. Their Instagram, @wildwestfundnevada, is how many of their current volunteers first learned about the group.
“Education is key,” one Las Vegas-based volunteer, McKenna, said. “We’re able to reach a lot of people, who might not necessarily seek out the information, through social media by sharing posts, by retweeting, stuff like that. And I think that we can offer them a different perspective.”
Reno and Las Vegas differ on expenses when it comes to abortions. The first option is the abortion pill, which can be taken up to 10 weeks after the first day of a person's last period, according to Planned Parenthood. This typically runs for $500-600 in Reno, and $450 in Las Vegas.
The cost of surgical abortions usually starts at $800, and increases per week. Between travel expenses, complications, and complex care needs, an abortion could cost up to $10,000. In Nevada, there is rarely insurance or Medicaid coverage for abortion. Abortion isn’t federally funded either.
“One of the safest medical procedures that you can get… It’s like safer than getting your tonsils removed. Abortion is safe,” another person at the rally, Jakki said.
In Reno, only two locations offer abortion pills: Planned Parenthood and West End Women’s Medical Group. Of the two, West End is the only office to offer surgical abortions.
Jakki brought up that not all people who get abortions are women, and nearly one in four people who are able to get pregnant will have an abortion. “Not only cis women get abortions, right. Trans men, nonbinary people, queer families, everybody… Somebody you love has had an abortion” Photo by Catherine Schofield.
Funding isn’t the only support WWAF provides. If a caller is only short a few hundred dollars, they can direct them towards a larger, national fund to cover the cost. They also provide aftercare kits, help finding transportation, and Plan B pills.
Aside from funding, the group emphasizes destigmatizing abortion, especially for Black, Indigenous, and communities of color.
“For our organziation, we say we’re ‘pro-abortion’.” Scott said. “And to some people that may be shocking if ... they haven’t heard that term before, but the reason we say were pro-abortion is because we want people to know that abortion is safe, legal, it’s normal, it happens to so many people, and it’s not anything to have shame about and it’s not something that we want to distance ourselves from by saying, ‘Oh we support your choice, whatever that is’. Like, we support people seeking abortion, we support them having multiple abortions, abortion for any reason that they need it. It’s not something that we want to put qualifiers on, and so I think we’re already kind of moving away from the ‘pro-choice’ idea.”
Jakki, the Reno-based volunteer, pointed out that moving away from “pro-choice” rhetoric could better engage communities of color. “It’s not a message that connects with communities of color specifically. We’re much more community centric than I think, than when you think of white America, being very individualistic, what is your individual achievement, verses for many communities of color, who do live in multi generational households, who, um do like, rely on community care and have done that pre COVID, when we’ve really seen an uptake in mutual aid, which is really great.”
Jakki continued about the importance of raising a child in a healthy environment.
“What that means is beyond just access to abortion. It also means like whether or not you have a child… is that child raised in a place where they’re not going to be separated from their families? We’re thinking immigration, right. Where they’re not going to be murdered, right… For Indigenous women who are missing and murdered, to young Black folks who are terrorized by state violence, so it’s a message that has never resonated with us.”
“Reproductive justice, when it comes to it, is also economic justice and racial justice at the same time,” Ramazan added. There’s a very specific demographic that it’s easier for, like affluent, white women, etcetera, and we exist to break those barriers.”
At the Las Vegas march on Saturday, Jameelah was one of the few Black activists present. “When we’re talking about reproductive justice, who are we involving in this movement? Who’re we bringing into this space?” She pointed out that there is an unengaged community that needs choices to become options. “Black women, first, can get abortions.”
She then asked, “How do we engage communities of color into doing this work with us?... Not saying that everyone has to get an abortion, but if that’s your choice, if you need to get one… what does that look like? To have these honest conversations so that people know that they have options.”
The group credits the women of color-led group SisterSong with coining the term “reproductive justice”.
The team’s graphic designer, Claire, joined the group after the recent Texas abortion ban. “I think it was a really important moment for me to just realize, like, there’s so much work to be done on the ground. And I think it's an important moment because I've seen a lot of other people realizing that and I think if we’re able to mobilize as many people as possible… I mean events like the one on Saturday, that was huge. I mean to be able to fundraise over $9,000 in one weekend is incredible, and I think it speaks to how pissed people are right now and I think it's just so important to continue that work, because it's not going to all happen over one weekend, at a march.”
Ramazan pointed out that the group relies on financial donations to continue their work.
“If we don’t have the money, we can’t do this work. I repeated it so many times in my speech on Saturday,” Carla said. “But, it’s really the backbone of what we do, like clearly we’re not profiting at all off of this. We do it because we love it and the one thing we ask from the community is that if you can spare five dollars, if they can spare a coffee a week, send it our way. Just know that it’s going to good use and funding someone’s abortion care.”