Like Tacos? Like Beer? Help Fund Abortions

So the viral thing this summer was the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Yes, I did it too--right after I finished the Chicago Triathlon.

But did you know there was another challenge started this summer?

The Taco Or Beer Challenge to help fund abortions for all who need help.

The premise? Eat a taco, or drink a beer (or both), or not, and then go donate to an abortion fund.

Every year, approximately 200,000 women need financial assistance to get an abortion they need. Thanks to the Hyde Amendment and TRAP laws, it's becoming more and more expensive for a woman to get an abortion.

So as Andrea Grimes of RH Reality Check writes,

What I do know is that eating tacos and drinking beer is more pleasurable than getting doused with ice water, and that lawmakers around the country are passing increasingly restrictive anti-abortion access laws. Which means abortion funds are now more necessary than ever as legal abortion becomes harder than ever to access—especially for those of us who don’t live in major urban centers.

Tacos and beer, of course, remain as vital to our human happiness as they ever were. The solution is clear: Eat tacos, drink beer, and donate to abortion funds.

Because abortion stigma is real, I know it can be hard to make that first abortion fund donation. It’s one thing to support abortion in theory, and a whole other thing to actually help pay for someone else’s—a total stranger’s, most likely—abortion. There’s a strong cultural narrative that tells us people who get abortions are bad, irresponsible, or cruel. That they are undeserving of care and understanding. That they are confused or heartless.

That narrative fucking sucks. Abortion is common. Abortion is normal. And abortion is safest when it is legal and accessible—something abortion funds help to ensure in an increasingly hostile political climate. There’s nothing shameful about having an abortion, and nothing shameful about funding abortion. It’s so not-shameful, in fact, that you can be the kind of regular ol’ human being who eats a taco or drinks a beer and funds abortion.

So where can you donate? There are national funds, like Planned Parenthood and the Women's Reproductive Rights Assistance Project (WRRAP). There are also funds by state, although some states do not have a fund set up in them.

So, last night I went to a favorite spot and got some delicious Three Floyds Gumballhead (as well as some tasty Lagunitas Sumpin Sumpin) and some fish tacos. Because Indiana doesn't have a fund in state, I'm going to donate to Planned Parenthood.

In a few weeks, I'll also make a donation to WRRAP.

And here's a good thing: If you don't like tacos or beer, you can donate through iGive--if you use their stores, a portion of your purchase will automatically be donated to WRRAP. Neat, huh?

So, in conclusion, I'll let Andrea Grimes speak again:

So that’s all you have to do. Eat a taco and/or drink a beer—or a margarita, or a glass of Franzia, or a ginger ale, or a refreshing mineral water, hell, I don’t care what you drink, that’s how easy the Taco or Beer Challenge is. The Taco or Beer Challenge is about doing what’s right for your own taco and beverage needs, just like having an abortion—or not—is about doing what’s right for yourself and your family.

The only way to fail the Taco or Beer Challenge is to not donate to an abortion fund. I believe in tacos, I believe in beer, and I believe in you.

Video from September 2.

Let's get on it, people.