My name is Aimee Cunningham and I’m proud to serve as board chair for Abortion in America, a nonpartisan national nonprofit dedicated to lifting up the experiences of people harmed by abortion bans.

I haven’t been able to get Maria Puerto’s story out of my head since I heard it: a Texan who became pregnant unexpectedly at just 22 years old. Because abortion is banned in her state and she had no way to leave, she had no choice but to become a mother—at great personal cost. Then, a few years later, it happened a second time.

As Maria described it: “I was so young, with every direction in life still an open possibility. But because I got pregnant, Texas laws chose my way for me.”

As any parent can understand, Maria—a pseudonym she’s using to protect her family—loves her kids. She also struggles to provide the life she wants for them, and believes fiercely that no one should have such a deeply personal, life-changing decision made by the government.

As Maria says: “When I am with my kids and I watch them play, for a few fleeting moments I can forget all the stressors in my life. But then we go to the supermarket, and the stark reminder of how little I can give them pulls me back to reality. Financially, I am ruined. I cannot work because I cannot afford childcare. The waitlist for housing is too long, so the three of us have been sharing a room in my mom’s house.”

With the support of Amplify Legal, the litigation arm of Abortion in America, Maria Puerto is suing individuals affiliated with Students for Life, an anti-abortion group that championed Texas’ abortion ban, who then brazenly broke the law they fought for.

Maria is suing for $459,782: the estimated cost of raising two children in Texas. If she prevails, Texas law only allows her to receive $10,000 per violation, requiring her to donate the remainder to a charity of her choosing. If she wins, Maria has selected that charity to be Jane’s Due Process , an organization that helps young people in Texas access reproductive health and family planning services.

Because of the $10,000 limit, I am organizing this GoFundMe to help Maria raise the rest of the money she needs to support her children. Anything we raise above the goal will be donated to Jane’s Due Process.

Maria has decided, in her words, that “silence is no longer a strategy for survival.” I’m honored to support this brave woman in her fight, and I hope others will join me.