Protect QTBIPOC Access to Abortion Care

Hello Friends! 

Together with 107 other donors you have raised $6,386! Thank you!

We are so excited to share the work you have made possible since we launched our community work to protect QTBIPOC Abortion access. The overturn of Roe v Wade was imminent and preparing our communities for rapidly decreasing access to reproductive health choices was urgent.

This past year has seen cascading attacks on reproductive choice and June 24, 2023 marked the 1st anniversary of the United States Supreme Court Dobbs decision that removed federal legal protection for abortions. As we grieve and process this, Seeding Sovereignty is fighting for abortion access by mobilizing immediate care for community members who are on the frontlines but who often are the last to receive support. 

Innovative Community-Based, Free Abortion Doula Trainings: 

While there is wide societal acceptance and affection for birth doulas, few people know about the critical role of abortion doulas. This is largely because of the narrative of and stigma around abortion and choice.  Because we believe that all people seeking abortions deserve respect and comprehensive care, we innovated a free, abortion doula training initiative to fill this critical gap at a time when access, safety, and reproductive healthcare itself are under attack. 

Your donations launched our initiative and we are here to share our updates with you - those who made this possible. 

Leading the Abortion Doula Training Initiative is Seeding Sovereignty’s Community Care Program Coordinator, Serpentina Sanchez, a full spectrum doula who brings years of experience and community connection to our community based training initiative. 

We are thrilled to share that your donations have already produced 2 in-person and 2 online abortion doula trainings. Serpentina and their team of QTBIPOC trainers have taught over 100 people how to care for people going through an abortion. 

Because we believe that removing barriers to access is essential, our free trainings are both in-person and online. We also know that sustainable abortion care requires trust building in safe spaces for deep learning and networking, our trainings are intentionally limited to 25 or 30 people.  

Testimonials from Attendees: Here is what a few of the Abortion Doula Trainess had to say:

• “This opened my eyes to autonomous organizing and the power of coming together to fill a gap of care that we are witnessing or experiencing in community. It felt like a safe space to ask questions in order to get accurate information. Thank you!!”
• “This space is really comprehensive learning and community space! I am grateful for the accessibility of this knowledge and the folks who shared the space with me!”
•  “Really helpful and honest information that can be utilized to support folx. All the presenters offered perspectives and held space with such humbleness and very honest and real. Appreciated the space with folx that also came and getting time in the breakout session. Meaningful and amazing training. Thank you!”
• “Organized and vast coverage for Abortion doula work that is happening. Relevant resources in how to support the work and people going through abortions! Very informative through different lenses.”
• “This training was very well done and gave me much information to think about and grow from. Many thanks for offering ways for me to help support those in my circles.”

Community was created, trust was built, knowledge was shared, and new abortion doulas are being trained!  Thank you!

We also believe in peer to peer learning and in uplifting leaders who often have historically had no seat at the table - therefore our trainers are also gender expansive BIPOC community members.  And while the Abortion Doula Trainings are free to attendees, local community experts must themselves be resourced or our collective work is unsustainable.  Those trainers who partner with us are paid and this is aligned with our  core value of paying community members for their expertise.. Your donations have already funded these 17 trainer honorariums at a time when many are suffering from the challenging economy. 

The work Abortion Doula Trainers facilitate is vital: 

“I am very excited to be facilitating these Abortion Doula Trainings. I have been doing work in the Reproductive Justice area for some time and centering Queer Trans People of Color is necessary.” - Serpentina

However, requests for abortion doula trainings far outpaced our financial capacity to train the hundreds of people  who applied. We are actively fundraising to scale our early success and impact. That means offering many more Abortion Doula Trainings in the near future! With the tensions in society, a challenging political climate, continuing economic struggles, and the profiling of gender expansive BIPOC people, we are committed to offering these free trainings to those who seek this resource as a means to offer care to others.

Why our attendees wanted to take this training: 

• “As someone who has had more than one abortion I personally know how important this knowledge is. I want to be able to help my community feel loved and supported in a world that is making it increasingly hard for people to access abortions”
• “I am deeply passionate about abortion rights, and supporting my sisters in my community. I myself experienced my first abortion at the age of 19 in Texas, and I had no help, no one to guide me, no one to provide resources, and it was incredibly difficult. I want to educate women, provide a safe haven, and a sisterhood that they can lean on during their abortion care.”
• “I want to be of service to QTBIPOC and contribute to harm reduction as much as I can. This seems like a wonderful opportunity to learn new skills that I can implement wherever I go to support folks in an area that is often deeply traumatic”

Building Community 

While working with these abortion doulas, we also learned how much they too need support, and community. So much is built on trust. Working to further deepen the community, Serpentina created an in-person Abortion Doula Soiree this April. Welcoming individuals doing abortion doula work, and those interested in getting more involved, Seeding Sovereignty created space for 70 attendees to gather together to foster community between individuals interested in abortion access and support.  

These events would not have been possible without your support. 

Future Visions: 

We know that the abortions doulas Seeding Sovereignty has trained will create deep impacts within their communities as they work to support those going through abortions and  to destigmatize abortion as gender-expansive healthcare. We also know that together we can change the narrative of and stigma around abortion and choice that is needed to bolster the fight for legal protections for abortion care.

While we have been able to train about 100 people so far, the demand was greater than expected. That is not bad news! But it does mean we need to scale our abortion doula training programming. Your support is critical.

Be sure to sign up for our newsletter and follow us on socials for more updates. 

As we plan for future abortion doula trainings, educational events, and community building spaces, Seeding Sovereignty is dreaming towards a world where community care and access to affirming health care is the norm. We aim to create educated, supportive, and expansive community spaces. Communities require tending, and it is our goal to nurture long-term community relationships that make tangible change. Thank you for your continued support as we strive to make these dreams a reality. 

In Gratitude and Solidarity, 

The Seeding Sovereignty team 

Links:

• Visit our Website