As an organization committed to advancing reproductive and abortion justice for Nevadans and those traveling to the state for care, the day-to-day work of the Wild West Access Fund (WWAF) after the dismantling of the protections of Roe v. Wade has shifted rather drastically. Every day, our organization and the people that call us for help are navigating a ceaseless cycle of barriers, jumping through hoops, and we’re giving significantly more in funding towards travel costs than we ever anticipated due to more people being forced to leave their homes and come to Nevada for their abortion care.

WWAF was founded as an all-volunteer organization last year to financially assist those seeking abortion care. We believe everyone should have the final say in their own reproductive health decisions, and we believe in community power.

In the three months since the Supreme Court overturned Roe, the need for abortion justice has never been more critical in Nevada. We are one of only 16 states with abortion protections codified, but that could disappear overnight. Despite the devastating impact we’re seeing unfold, we are committed to solutions that ensure our communities can get the abortion care we need. It’s time for our elected officials in Nevada to enact policies that do just that.

We’re calling on Nevada lawmakers at every level to advance abortion justice and address the barriers that keep care out of reach. That means allowing advanced practice clinicians to provide abortions and lifting insurance coverage bans on abortion, as well as offering free medication abortion at all community clinics and providing funding to cover abortion care. 

The fact is, legal abortion alone isn’t enough, and was never enough to ensure people can get the care they need. Decades of restrictions—including insurance coverage bans, bans on medication abortion, and inhumane policies that target immigrants—have long denied people abortion care even where it is legal. The harm of these policies falls hardest on people working to make ends meet, who are more likely to be people of color.

Our nation has a long history of unequal access to health care, including abortion care, which is rooted in systemic racism that denies people of color’s humanity and most fundamental rights. We know that when politicians restrict abortion care, they interfere with Nevadans’ ability to live with dignity and control their lives, bodies, and futures.

In Nevada, the impact is widespread. Our clinics are busier than ever and demands on our time and our stories are high. That’s why we’re making it clear that our vision is united: a world where abortion care is there for you when you need it, without barriers based on who you are, where you are from, or how much you earn.

We’ve been working toward that vision in Nevada together with our community by building out our infrastructure, providing financial and practical support to folks in and traveling to Nevada, securing commitments from the governor’s office that they won’t prosecute abortion, and partnering with organizations that want to help build our collective futures. We are in our resolve toward fighting to ensure that anyone who needs abortion care can get it, period.

For us, this isn’t about political games or court decisions – it’s about the freedom to control our lives with dignity and create a world where anyone who needs abortion care can get it – today, tomorrow, forever. Together, we can push for bold solutions in Nevada that ensure abortion is available, affordable, and supported for anyone who needs it. Abortion justice can’t wait.

Macy Haverda is the Board President of Wild West Access Fund of Nevada, which works to advance reproductive justice and economic justice in Nevada by providing financial assistance to abortion seekers.