On Abortion Doula-ing, Regulations, and Some Thoughts Against Professionalization
I was recently featured in an article about the various transitions and experiences that doulas can accompany people through. And, while I am honored to have been included, have massive respect for the author, and am always excited to spread the word about Abortion Doulas, I have some thoughts to add.
As a Full-Spectrum Doula, I am committed to using and centering language that acknowledges and includes all pregnancies and their various outcomes; chosen, spontaeneous, and/or medically indicated.
As a Doula who has lived experience of a chosen abortion, I am committed to de-stigmatizing that word and experience. Even within the Doula field, the word abortion is often whispered, or abortion services are hidden in the “back room” on Doula’s websites. As a Full-Spectrum Doula I understand that any pregnancy can end in an abortion experience and therefore offer my services loud and proud and try not to center only birth as an outcome.
ok, so while I stand by the healing properties of ice cream and park walks, as an Abortion Doula there is allllllllot more to what I (we) do...
This is a bit of what I shared with the publication about my work, and almost decade of experience, as an active Abortion Doula:
I started my Doula journey working with the Richmond Reproductive Freedom Project, a community abortion fund that has stood the test of time, providing funding and practical support to people having abortions, pre, during, and now post Roe v. Wade.
With the support of RRFP a cohort of us trained with Ancient Song Doula Services and then formed the Richmond Doula Project, a community run, BIPOC and queer centered, doula collective to work with pregnant people as accessible, community, Full-Spectrum Doulas. We had no state funding/regulation and were able to function freely and responsively to the needs of the people we worked with. It was not perfect, but we served a need that could not be met within the medical system and that the state was certainly not going to fund.
There is a sentiment that in Berlin/Germany Doulas are less needed because the state/public healthcare covers many obstetric and medical pregnancy essentials (such as midwifery support throughout pregnancy, birth and postpartum).
Yet the fact remains that even with all this access to medical support, Doulas remain sought after, with our popularity rising each year. This suggests to me that the need for Doulas lies beyond what the established medical system can (or is prepared) to provide.
If Doulas were to enter willingly into that system, it would most likely erode the unique accompaniment that pregnant people seek when they engage with Doulas.
The doula movement in the US was born out of obstetric violence and racism, and is/was a response to this violence that comes from a long and ancient line of healers working in defiance of subjugation.
Obstetric study and practice in the US came from the stolen wisdom and lineage of mostly Black and Indigenous people, who in turn were regulated and slandered into oblivion, then written out of history.
The further “professionalization” of doula accompaniment, in my formulation, only leads to further disenfranchisement of the originators of this sacred and ancient practice.
Here are some of the thoughts I shared on regulation:
I don't think that unregulated doula support can be dangerous at any higher of a rate than "regulated" fields. I do think that with state funding often comes less autonomy/flexibility, and often people turn to doulas to fill various roles that are being neglected within the traditional or regulated medical/care fields. I think this flexibility and responsiveness to individual needs is what makes doula-care so appealing and effective for many people while navigating systems that often don't view them as individuals (or even humans) with unique needs and situations.
As a doula trained in this lineage, why then would I advocate for more state regulation?
As Our Lorde says, “the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house” after all.
Lingering + (sometimes) contradictory thoughts:
I am so grateful that the author so bravely shared her own story and highlighted amazing doulas doing amazing work in Berlin
I don’t think that more state regulation/funding/professionalization will sustain doula-work or people seeking alternative care in the long-term
as someone who provided free/sliding scale community doula support, of course, I wish doula suport was more financially accessible in Berlin and that Doulas get paid a living wage
I wish people(doula’s) who want to work with and destigmatize abortion would be more care-ful in their usage of birth-centered language
the mountain I will die on is that an abortion is a medical procedure that is used or medically indicated in many different and unique scenarios, and should be treated accordingly...
Abortion Group Berlin Resource List
Further Reading:
