DC Doulas for Choice volunteers provide inclusive and compassionate abortion support. We have partnered with two area clinics and propose to expand our reach in the future.

Come out and grab a drink at MOVA Lounge Wednesday, March 13th to support 6 years of Radical Doula and the DC Doulas for Choice Collective.

There will be a raffle, drink specials, a photo booth, and Radical Doula Guides for sale.

http://radicaldoula.com/2013/02/28/i-heart-doulas-celebrating-6-years-of-radical-doula-wdc-doulas-for-choice/

The past two years I have spent working at an abortion clinic have been without question challenging, rewarding and life-altering. My patients set my moral compass and inspire me on a daily basis. As a reproductive justice advocate and doula I feel it is my duty to constantly evolve my skills to better serve and work with my patients. I also believe I am obligated to learn from each woman I interact with to help answer age-old “social justice” questions. Recently, my girlfriend rekindled a question I have not formally visited in too long: How do I work with women in a way that is not solely political?

As a white, upper middle class woman I find myself constantly evaluating the politics of my privilege and harking back to my roots in women’s studies and its teachings of oppression and power. Most will agree that we cannot take the “political” out of abortion care. The government and our society at large have instilled a need to politicize everything women do. As advocates, is it possible for us to transcend the political for our patients to view our interactions as human, personal and essential? I always see the political in conversations I have with low-income women who cannot use their Medicaid to cover their abortions in Virginia. I also see the political in situations where patients cannot access childcare two days in a row to come for their ultrasound at least twenty-four hours before their abortion. It is also political that most of the low-income women I obtain abortion funding for are women of color. Systems of racism, classism and sexism are a harsh reality for too many in our society. To ignore or normalize these oppressions is, in many ways, to perpetuate them.

Working to eradicate these systems is one of the main reasons I work in abortion care, but it is not the only one. I show up to work every day because I truly love and respect every woman who walks through our doors. I respect their stories, their strength, their families, their passions, their goals, etc. As an abortion doula, I am allowed into the intimate space of a woman’s abortion and establish a connection with her that is unique, often times spiritual and always human. At its most essential place, I do this work because I believe every woman has a story that deserves to be heard and the ability to make a contribution to our society. I hope to continue to learn from my patients and fellow activists to find the best way to balance the human and political elements of our work to push for a better, more just world for women and their families.

This post was authored by Emily C., a doula with the D.C. Doulas for Choice.

I have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. I have a wonderful family, great friends, a safe place to live and the all the resources I need to accomplish my dreams. On a professional, activist and, for me, spiritual level I am thankful for many elements of the reproductive justice movement. I am thankful for the honor of knowing such wonderful and compassionate people through this Collective. I am thankful to work at a clinic that provides safe and accessible abortions and has a staff dedicated to serving women. I am thankful for abortion funds that help my patients get seen. I am thankful for reproductive health organizations that combat racism. I am thankful for the doctor at our clinic who has provided abortions for almost fifty years and continues to do so because he truly believes in women. But mostly, I am thankful for my patients. Every day they share their wisdom with me and trust me with their stories. They grant me the privilege of entering their space during their abortions and births. Their journey fosters solidarity between us that drives me get out of bed each morning. I am constantly in awe of their strength and the efforts they make to achieve their own form of liberation.

We, as advocates plan, organize and collaborate to help women access care, but sometimes we forget that it is our patients who create their own change. They sell their jewelry, cars and couches to raise money for their abortions. They walk through lines of protesters to enter clinics. They power through hours of contractions to bring new life into the world. They call abortion hotlines for days on end to get funding. They organize childcare and get themselves to clinics. They stand up for their birth plan during labor. They make choices that honor themselves and their families. I am thankful for all they do. They are the most powerful people I have the honor of knowing. I hope you too can give thanks this holiday and every day for these women and the efforts they make to enrich and progress our communities.

Stay tuned for more details, but mark your calendars for April 28th for a Dirty Dancing Movie Night!! We are raising money so that we can host a late spring training to bring on more volunteers and buy needed supplies. The movie night will have cheap snacks and beer for purchase and a $5 cover. We strongly encourage participation from all movie watchers: think cuffed jean shorts, canvas tennis shoes, dance attire and dresses with full skirts that will twirl when you dance. Check out the Facebook page for the event, RSVP so we can estimate food and beverage needs properly, and then invite your prochoice friends to join in the fun! 

Looking for plans for tomorrow evening? Well, come say hi to us at the Big Hunt, in Dupont Circle. The GWU Law School chapter of the National Lawyers Guild is hosting a “radical dance party” Friday, March 2, starting at 7pm until “bedtime” and we’ll have a table set up. Check out the Facebook page for more, or stop by and see us! We will be accepting donations to help cover the cost of our trainings and supplies. You can also purchase one of our snazzy mugs! Looking forward to seeing you there!

The folks at DC Jobs with Justice have published an awesome summary of  grassroots organizing in the District throughout 2011 . I can’t help but feel warm and fuzzy when the larger progressive community recognizes the important contributions toward reproductive health, rights, and justice done by volunteers and organizations like the DC Abortion Fund and the DC Doulas for Choice. On the flip side, it is crucial to remember that our work does not exist in a silo, and that increasing access to compassionate doula care during the termination of a pregnancy is enhanced by the work for justice in the realms of labor, education, housing, gender, food, policing, and more that is being done by incredible activists throughout DC.

Check out the excerpt below and click here to read more about activism and progress in DC!

DC’S 99% PLANT SEEDS, CULTIVATE HUMAN ECONOMY
Facing a perennially corrupt and ineffective local government and several years of national bank bailouts for the 1%, DC change-makers turned to each other. Grassroots projects to create a human economy took off in 2011. The two Occupy DC** encampments churned out hundreds of free, daily meals and provided basic medical care and a library for hundreds of visitors, including some who had been recently laid off or evicted. Other volunteer-run projects like DC Doulas for Choice and DC Time Bank continued to expand opportunities for a human-centered, solidarity economy.

Just a few other examples: A new grassroots, all-volunteer foundation — the Diverse City Fund — distributed $45,000 to 23 organizations led by people of color, and the long-running DC Abortion Fund stepped in when Congress blocked Medicaid abortion reimbursement. Several large housing coops consolidated and began to plan to play roles in spreading coop values & housing rights. New worker and consumer cooperatives began exploratory work, like a potential Shaw food coop, a GWU coop cafe, and cooperatives of day laborers and child care workers seeking greater control over their economic lives. And collective farming projects continued to take root in neighborhoods like Edgewood.

Support the DC Doulas for Choice Collective by purchasing your very own coffee mug! They are $15 including shipping, and ALL of our profits go directly toward providing full spectrum doula services to folks in the DMV area. Email dcdoulasforchoice [at] gmail [dot] com. You can pay via paypal, money order, check, or well-concealed cash!

Jezebel recently published a blog post entitled How to Help a Friend Through an Abortion, a follow-up to another post about How to Help a Friend Deal with Miscarriage. It is heartening to see abortion and miscarriage discussed in a public platform in a way that highlights the uniqueness of everyone’s experiences, as well as the importance of a supporter, a listener, a friend. Sounds like a doula to me!

Abortion doulas do get a shout-out, though as Radical Doula notes, most abortion doulas work through partnerships with clinics, and less commonly as sought out through individuals.