FAQs

 
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An abortion doula is often not medically trained, but they do provide emotional support before, during or after an abortion. Someone getting an abortion may need to walk into a clinic, potentially through anti-choice protesters; waiting in the clinic; receive the 1st medication or the procedure; exit the building and possibly face more protesters; take the second medication the day after and administer proper aftercare. An abortion doula will offer act as their support system through any or all of that process.

“Doulas work not only to support people experiencing the medical procedure itself, but also to let some light, air, and sound into the stale conversation about abortion. We do this partially by demystifying abortion in the wider world. “
www.thenation.com/article/archive/abortion-doula-clinics/

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We believe that the development of this programme will be valuable throughout the current pandemic and beyond for a number of reasons:

It will enable us to provide immediate and direct assistance to women and pregnant people in the gaps in service provision that we noted through our direct contact with women.

It will continue public discourse on abortion access as a health, justice and community issue, which is fundamental to our integrity as an arm of Alliance for Choice; a grassroots reproductive justice organisation. 

The direct assistance Alliance for Choice have given to women and pregnant people seeking ad-hoc Doula care since the regulations and limited service provision rolled out, is vital but we need a wider cohort of supporters.

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“the stories behind the feminist initiatives on self-managed abortion speak of solidarity and non-judgmental support, experiences that pregnant people, particularly those from marginalised communities, do not always encounter in formal health systems. Every person, regardless of their context, deserves good quality abortion care when choosing to terminate a pregnancy, and access to emergency medical attention if needed. They should be able to decide also how they want to have their abortion, without fear of prosecution or moral judgement” 
Mariana Prandini Assis & Sara Larrea (2020) Why self-managed abortion is so much more than a provisional solution for times of pandemic, Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters


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Training is free!

However it is a big time commitment, with up to 2 classes a week over a month.

We also want you to invest some time in the reading resources we will provide and at the end, we want us all to come together to talk about what you can all contribute to the next stage of the project.

At the moment this is a pilot but we envision an ongoing project that we could get support for through charitable means, and the more engagement we get at this stage, the more likely we will be able to propose it as a viable long term project.

The difficulties we have faced due to Covid-19 merely illustrate the faullines already present in the provision by the Department of Health, so we intend this as the beginning of an ongoing project as those gaps aren;t likely to be addressed anytime soon.
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Abortion nerds r us!

The commitment is mostly time and genuine engagement at first. Once we have a cohort of fully trained Doulas then we will be more able to figure out who we have available versus what is needed.

Even when doulas aren’t actively engaged in abortion support or its pragmatic surrounding tasks, it is our duty to demystify and normalise the process and the decision. People self-managing their abortions often have questions and need to clarify a few times and are soothed speaking to someone who has already helped others or had an abortion themselves. Those attending clinics can often miss important clinical or appointment details because of the fear created by social stigma, so we can be a personal advocate.

We also ask for a commitment to self-learning, self-reflection and peer support. The substance of this project came from a collision of ideas from the team at Alliance for Choice and an invaluable proposal from Siobhán Clancy which is featured in our resources section.