Pro-Abortion Bunnies

Every two years, the Texas State Legislature assembles for a 140-day legislative session in which members of the state Senate and House of Representatives introduce new bills, pass or reject new bills and review the status of current bills. The 87th Texas Legislative Session, running from Jan. 12 to May 31, will focus on the impact of the pandemic, the recent unprecedented winter storm, gun control proposals, education policies, and reproductive health care. 

 Since the session began, the Texas Senate approved several anti-abortion bills, including Senate Bill 8; a bill that would prevent abortions from being performed once a fetal heartbeat is detected, and Senate Bill 9; outlawing nearly all abortions if prohibited at a federal level. The continued debate surrounding abortion and restrictions by legislators urges advocate and volunteer member Martha Mercado, and her peers, to fight for reproductive rights through Buckle Bunnies Fund, a Texas wide abortion mutual aid collective.  

“Buckle Bunnies Fund started because all these abortion restrictions are coming up. Legislators were debating abortion as an elective procedure when we feel that it’s definitely not an elective procedure,” Mercado said. 

Elective procedures are non-emergency surgeries performed by choice, often discussed in advance between the patient and doctor. Common elective procedures include laser eye surgery, plastic surgery, and organ transplantation.  

“It’s not really elective for people to want to terminate their pregnancy. What happens if you don’t terminate that pregnancy? The longer you put off an abortion, the more expensive it gets,” Mercado added.  

The collective has been working together to fund over 90 abortions, the equivalent of $12,000, in a span of one year. Variables such as where a person resides, their blood type, whether a person is prone to complications and depending how far along they are in their pregnancy will determine the cost of an abortion. On average, an abortion can cost up to $500.  

“For the most part, we fully fund abortions. If you apply for a Buckle Bunnies fund, we’ll cover your abortion. We collaborate with other abortion funds to make sure that our clients can be fully funded,” Mercado said.  

The collective has gathered and collaborated with people from all around Texas. From Mercado’s hometown of Brownsville to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Buckle Bunnies Fund uses demographic perspectives to educate people about the opportunity and accessibility for medical and surgical, as well as self-assisted abortions. This creates conversations about the false information spread at crisis pregnancy centers and dismantles the stigmas around abortion.  

“We want to make sure that people have the right information and that they’re not being fearmongered into a decision,” Mercado said.  “It is really just about bodily autonomy, and about having a baby when you’re ready to have a baby. That’s a huge stigma of abortion. If you’re having an abortion, you’re not killing a baby; you’re terminating a pregnancy.” 

Bodily autonomy says that no one, other than the person themselves, has a right to use their body without full consent. The slogan “my body, my choice” exemplifies this concept, advocating for a person’s right to their sexual and reproductive rights. Buckle Bunnies Fund believes that these rights should not limit to only cis-gender women, and that transgender people should be included in the conversation.  

“We very much know that you don’t have to be a cis-woman to have a pregnancy or to have an abortion. We are careful to be trans-inclusive with our language,” Mercado said.  Additionally, Buckle Bunnies Fund welcomes sex workers, another marginalized group left out of the conversation regarding abortion. 

“We do have sex workers in our organization. They are some of the people that should be leading those conversations [about abortion]. We have sex worker driven abortion funds, queer driven abortion funds and we’re not afraid to talk about it or share about it.”   

Buckle Bunnies Fund hopes to build more capacity to be able to include people of all backgrounds and orientations in the ongoing conversation. Starting on Easter Sunday until April 20, the collective will be having their first official fundraiser, Fund-A-Bun. The goal is to pitch towards creatives that want to sell their products and share a percentage of their proceeds on behalf of future abortion procedures.  

“The goal for us is to raise as much money as possible,” Mercado said. “I don’t think there are certain circumstances that someone needs to be under to have an abortion. I think if you want an abortion, and you just feel like it’s not the right time or this isn’t the move for you, we’re here to support you.” 

For more information on Buckle Bunnies Fund and how to get reproductive health support, to donate or get involved, visit their website.