You or Someone You Love: Reflections from an Abortion Doula

Summary

An eye-opening, transformative, and actionable journey through radical and compassionate community abortion care and support work: what it looks like, how each and every one of us can practice and incorporate it into our daily lives, and what we can imagine and build together in a post-Roe v. Wade United States.

Abortion touches all of our lives. One in four women in the United States has at least one abortion by the age of forty-five, which means that virtually everyone knows someone who will, or who already has. But despite the universality of abortion experiences, stigma and criminalization stifle discussions of how best to care for and support these women—and all of the other members of our communities who have abortions—before, during, and after them.

Now, Hannah Matthews—abortion care worker, doula, journalist and essayist, and reproductive rights advocate—presents an accessible guide to the emotional and physical realities of providing and supporting abortion care to our own communities. Featuring stories of real abortion experiences, including Matthews’s own, You or Someone You Love offers a glimpse into the stunningly diverse landscape of abortion care across gender, race, and class lines, while illustrating how we can better support and protect the people who seek abortion in a country that increasingly promotes secrecy and shame.