Crowdfunding is something that people do for creative projects like twee indie films, or twee music videos, or, in some cases, really worthwhile charity organisations that need just a bit of a boost.
However, in the case of an American woman called Bailey, Crowdfunding is a way to secure an abortion. The 23-year-old, who lives in Chicago, Illinois, doesn't get access to free or subsidised healthcare, or Obamacare as it's known in America.
So she's started a GoFundMe page to raise the $2,500 needed for an abortion. Originally called the 'Stop Bailey From Breeding Fund', it explains her reasons for not wanting or being able to have a baby right now: 'Bailey is currently unemployed, completely broke, in debt, and in no position to hold down a job due to severe symptoms of a rough, unplanned and unexpected pregnancy'
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But why a crowdfunding site? Well, less pressing things have got money: 'We saw that Kickstarter that made a bunch of money for the potato salad thing. If people want to donate, they can, which is a lot easier than going and asking people.'
The 'we' is her and boyfriend Lücifer Ryzing. He's not necessarily the father, though, as she won't disclose who that is.
'I’m hoping people will [donate], but it’s also totally fine if people don’t. I know if I saw something like this I’d be like, I want to help this person to make sure they live the life they want to live,' she also explained to Vice that, being 19-20 weeks along right now: 'It’s more time-sensitive than some of the other things that you see.'
However, her request for funds so she can get the abortion has upset a lot of anti-Choicers, 'I’ve had a few people threaten to dox me, log my IP address, and find out where I live [so they can] come hurt me in some way, or come hurt Lüci. There have definitely been moments where we’ve been like, Holy fuck. Really? Really?'
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Which has given her panic attacks - on top of the complications she's experiencing in this pregnancy: 'I just got the ultrasound done and haven’t really been to the doctor very much, so I can’t say there’s a specific condition, but I know that it’s worse than any menstrual cramps I’ve ever had. Sometimes the pain is so bad that I can’t get out of bed, and I can’t go to the bathroom. When I cough, it feels like my organs being shredded inside of me.'
Yikes. We get that it might seem a bit weird for people to have to crowdfund their necessary medical procedures, and maybe not the thoughtful way we like to approach personal issues that can be as controversial as abortion. But it's her body, and she knows that if she brings the foetus to term she won't be able to give it a good life. Maybe it's more worrying that, without free universal childcare, (under Obamacare, you have to have a job to get access to certain procedures, and even then, certain Christian employers are looking to clamp down on workers' access to abortion) this is what she has to resort to. Makes you pretty happy to have the NHS, right?
Follow Sophie on Twitter @sophwilkinson
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.