So, I spent the weekend getting trained as an abortion doula through two local organizations.
What's an abortion doula? Well... Let's start with what a doula is in general.
Doulas (a problematic word of Greek origin, meaning female slave...yikes) are people (usually women, but not always) who provide physical and emotional support to pregnant people and people in labor. Abortion doulas basically do the same thing, but usually in a clinic while their client is going through the procedure.
Abortions can be painful, stressful, and isolating. There's a lot of stigma around them, and that doesn't help. A doula is there to hold the client's hand, tell them it's all going to be okay, answer basic questions about the procedure, and even have dialogues with clients about stigma, faith, and more. We are there to make sure the pregnant person is safe. If she's there with a partner who seems like he's coercing her into the abortion. If she's there alone, if she's a minor there with a family member, if there's any reason to suspect abuse or rape, it's not our job to fix that, but we do report it to the medical professionals. Abortion doulas are patient advocates, and act as a liaison between the clients and their providers. We can also escort clients from their cars to the clinic, often through a crowd of protesters. I like to think of it as sort of being a 'point-person' for any questions, support, or general needs for the pregnant person.
In terms of my content, I hope to start doing a little bit more abortion education, while still staying in keeping with my usual subject matter. I've been talking to be friends a lot about this lately, and I'm realizing what a shocking lack of education there is around abortion... I really want to use my platform to try and change that. I hope to be able to demystify abortion a little bit.
One more announcement! You can now LISTEN to The Pink Zone as a podcast! It's available on ITunes, Apple Podcasts, and Anchor, and maybe eventually Spotify and Soundcloud. So exciting!!
What's an abortion doula? Well... Let's start with what a doula is in general.
Doulas (a problematic word of Greek origin, meaning female slave...yikes) are people (usually women, but not always) who provide physical and emotional support to pregnant people and people in labor. Abortion doulas basically do the same thing, but usually in a clinic while their client is going through the procedure.
Abortions can be painful, stressful, and isolating. There's a lot of stigma around them, and that doesn't help. A doula is there to hold the client's hand, tell them it's all going to be okay, answer basic questions about the procedure, and even have dialogues with clients about stigma, faith, and more. We are there to make sure the pregnant person is safe. If she's there with a partner who seems like he's coercing her into the abortion. If she's there alone, if she's a minor there with a family member, if there's any reason to suspect abuse or rape, it's not our job to fix that, but we do report it to the medical professionals. Abortion doulas are patient advocates, and act as a liaison between the clients and their providers. We can also escort clients from their cars to the clinic, often through a crowd of protesters. I like to think of it as sort of being a 'point-person' for any questions, support, or general needs for the pregnant person.
In terms of my content, I hope to start doing a little bit more abortion education, while still staying in keeping with my usual subject matter. I've been talking to be friends a lot about this lately, and I'm realizing what a shocking lack of education there is around abortion... I really want to use my platform to try and change that. I hope to be able to demystify abortion a little bit.
One more announcement! You can now LISTEN to The Pink Zone as a podcast! It's available on ITunes, Apple Podcasts, and Anchor, and maybe eventually Spotify and Soundcloud. So exciting!!
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