USA – You Don’t Have to Be a Doula to Offer Abortion Support

Abortion is many things: pain, community, hope—and a social good, Hannah Matthews writes in her new book.

MAY 2, 2023
GARNET HENDERSON

In her new book You or Someone You Love, writer, clinic worker, and abortion doula Hannah Matthews offers a picture of what abortion care looks like, and what it could look like if we dared to dream and invest in radical, compassionate community care. The book interweaves personal stories—including Matthews’ own abortion story—with the kind of frank information about abortion that many people have never heard. It also asks the reader to think about ways they can personally support people who have abortions, however small.

Matthews donated half of her book advance to abortion funds and says any royalties she earns will be donated in the same way. Rewire News Group sat down with Matthews to learn more. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Continued: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/2023/05/02/an-abortion-doula-calls-for-radical-community-care/

02.05.2023

Interviews/Podcasts

abortion doula

abortion story

failed medication abortion

Hannah Matthews

medication abortion

women's abortion stories

You or Someone You Love

United States

Health

USA – This ‘full spectrum’ doula helps with birth, miscarriage and abortion

April 27, 2023
Terry Gross

Since 2010, Vicki Bloom has worked with the Doula Project, a New York City-based collective that partners with clinics to support pregnant people — whether the result is childbirth or termination.

TERRY GROSS, HOST:
This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. My guest, Vicki Bloom, is a doula. Typically, doulas provide support for women during pregnancy and childbirth. But Bloom describes herself as a full-spectrum doula, working with people no matter how the pregnancy proceeds, whether it results in birth, miscarriage, stillbirth or abortion. Since 2010, she's worked with The Doula Project, a New York City-based collective that partners with clinics to support pregnant people, whether the result is childbirth or termination. The doulas are volunteers, which enables The Doula Project to fulfill its goal of providing free emotional, physical and informational support to low-income women and to marginalized communities.

Continued: https://www.npr.org/2023/04/27/1172200783/this-full-spectrum-doula-helps-with-birth-miscarriage-and-abortion

27.04.2023

USA – Why I Became an Abortion Doula During the Pandemic

After being isolated and lonely when I became pregnant in March 2020, I now help others so they feel less alone.

FEB 15, 2023
LARADA LEE-WALLACE

In March 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, I realized I might be pregnant. My uterus felt heavy. My period was only two days late, but something felt off. I was alone and didn’t have a ride, so I called an Uber to the nearest grocery store to buy a pregnancy test. When I got home, I hurried to the bathroom and took the test. It was positive.

All of that was already a costly decision. I had set aside money for my bills and groceries that month, and as a full-time student and Medicaid recipient, I didn’t have the financial resources to pay for an abortion. In fact, the cost of a first-trimester abortion in the state of Ohio, where I live, was more than one month’s rent for my apartment. Luckily, I received financial assistance from the Abortion Fund of Ohio.

Continued: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/2023/02/15/why-i-became-an-abortion-doula-during-the-pandemic/

15.02.2023

Opinion

abortion doula

Abortion Fund of Ohio

Learning to Self-Manage Abortions Is Key in a Post-“Roe” Society

As we head into 2023, we face the collective challenge of working to normalize knowledge of self-managed abortions.

By Kelly Hayes , TRUTHOUT
December 31, 2022

For many of us, the fall of Roe v. Wade was one of the most devastating events of 2022. When Politico published a leaked draft of the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, I was deeply rattled. My intellectual awareness that such an outcome was likely, given the Republican’s seizure of the Supreme Court, had not prepared me emotionally for the sight of those hateful, arcane words. Like many people, I was overwhelmed by the impulse to do something useful. So, I trained to become an abortion doula, which means that, in addition to my work as a writer, organizer and podcaster, I also provide various forms of support to people who are seeking to end pregnancies. Through that work, and my coverage of abortion rights on “Movement Memos,” I have built relationships with some great people who are working to help folks around the country access abortions. About six months out from the fall of Roe, we all agree about one thing: We desperately need to normalize knowledge of self-managed abortion.

Continued: https://truthout.org/articles/learning-to-self-manage-abortions-is-key-in-a-post-roe-society/

In North Carolina, more people are training to support patients through an abortion

By Claire Donnelly
December 19, 2022

Lauren Overman has a suggested shopping list for her clients preparing to get an abortion. The list includes: a heating pad, a journal, aromatherapy oils – things that could bring them some physical or emotional comfort after the procedure. Overman is an abortion doula.

She has worked as a professional birth doula for many years. Recently, Overman also began offering advice and emotional support to people as they navigate having an abortion, which can often be lonely. She makes her services available either for free or on a sliding scale to abortion patients.

Continued: https://www.wglt.org/2022-12-19/in-north-carolina-more-people-are-training-to-support-patients-through-an-abortion

19.12.2022

Commentary

Featured

abortion doula

Carolina Abortion Fund

Lauren Overman

Mountain Area Abortion Doula Collective

It’s a stressful time to be an abortion doula. But many say they aren’t quitting

By Harmeet Kaur, CNN
Fri July 15, 2022

(CNN)Saquaya Ruffin didn't know what an abortion doula was until the clinic staff asked if she wanted one.

Her mother came with her to the appointment at Planned Parenthood in New York, but she wasn't going to be allowed in the procedure room. Ruffin agreed to the doula, figuring it would help to have someone with her.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/15/health/abortion-doulas-roe-v-wade-wellness-cec/index.html

A Guide to Caring for Yourself (Or Others) After an Abortion

Conversations about the aftermath of an abortion can center on harmful and false narratives. We're here to change that.

Feb 2, 2022
Caroline Reilly, Rewire News

Abortion is life-affirming health care that should be accessible for all, on demand and without restrictions. Part of supporting access to abortion care is making sure patients who seek them are fully informed about what having an abortion entails, including the aftercare.

I recently put out a call on Twitter to learn more about the experiences people had after their abortion. I heard from dozens of folks who said there were parts of the experience they felt unprepared for or surprised by—the pain, the bleeding, and all the other aspects associated with many medical procedures.

Continued: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/article/2022/02/02/a-guide-to-caring-for-yourself-or-others-after-an-abortion/

Australia – Meet Jo Bolger, the abortion doula who helps people through pregnancy terminations

ABC Sunshine Coast / By Edwina Storie
May 31, 2021

Jo Bolger is Australia's first abortion doula — a grandma, a mother of three, and one of those people who brims with warmth.

An abortion doula provides non-medical support, whether it be emotional, physical or informational, through a termination of pregnancy.

Continued: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-01/meet-australia-s-first-abortion-doula/100153212

Abortion doulas help people navigate the process. They say their work was more crucial than ever in the pandemic.

They say their job shifted to help abortion-seekers navigate ever-changing laws

Tracey Onyenacho
May 27, 2021

In April 2020, a month into covid-19 stay-at-home orders, Hannah Taleb, an abortion doula with Tucson Abortion Support Collective (TASC), was driving a client to an abortion clinic in Phoenix in the early hours of the morning. According to TASC, there are only two abortion clinics in Tucson, and only one of the clinics is able to do surgical procedures, leaving appointment slots to fill up quickly.

On the two-hour drive to the abortion clinic, the two women wore masks with the windows rolled down. Her client cried as the heaviness of the moment dawned on her, Taleb said, so she pulled over to the side of the road and comforted the client, offering to talk.

Continued: https://www.thelily.com/abortion-doulas-help-people-navigate-the-process-they-say-their-work-was-more-crucial-than-ever-in-the-pandemic/

Canada – Pro-choice coalition aims to raise awareness with billboard campaign

Group says it is seeking to challenge the stigma that persists around the topic of abortion

Mary Katherine Keown
May 04, 2021

As an abortion doula, Amber Gaudrault offers non-judgemental support to those who need it.

The choice to abort a fetus is rarely easy, but Gaudrault says doulas provide a “safe place to talk about why they chose an abortion and what it was like to have the procedure.”

Continued: https://www.thesudburystar.com/news/local-news/pro-choice-coalition-aims-to-raise-awareness-with-billboard-campaign

04.05.2021