The Abortion Care Network is a group of independent abortion care providers across the country. The organization helps staffers at these clinics to connect and share ideas with other abortion providers A significant part of their mission statement is to increase respect for women and challenge the stigma surrounding abortion, which is made evident in the empathetic, respectful care that these clinics give to women.

What did you learn while you were at the conference?

I was very struck by how much personal care these clinics’ employees put into their interactions with patients. I attended a workshop about collaging, that explored the ways counselors at clinics use the creation of a collage to make their patients feel more comfortable with the procedure they’re about to undergo. Patients talk through their feelings while they create a collage that reflects their thoughts on the procedure, helping them to de-stigmatize the concept of abortion while reflecting on it. Collages made by other women undergoing the procedure hang on the wall in some clinics, representative of a shared experience to make women feel that they aren’t alone. I also stopped by the booth of an organization that gives a plant to each woman after they undergo a procedure, which they are encouraged to carefully tend to as a symbol of life. These personal touches in a woman’s health care are very meaningful to her physical and emotional well-being, so the amount of care that goes into each woman’s visit is remarkable to me.

Prior to attending this conference, what had been your experience in pro-choice activism?

I was the president of the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance while at the University of Iowa. Every year, we held a protest of the crisis pregnancy center in our town, which implied that they provided choices to women yet wouldn’t refer them to clinics that provided abortion services. We would also promote our local pro-choice, feminist clinic by handing out information about it in common areas on campus. My college town was very progressive, however, so it has been very enlightening to represent Trust Women and to get to know people working in abortion clinics in less hospitable environments.

Is there anything else that stood out to you about the conference?

I find what ACN does to be especially important because it operates on two levels. On the micro level, these clinics provide thoughtful care to women, counseling them and helping them to explore their feelings about what can for some women be the life-altering event of an unintended pregnancy. On a macro level, the organization promotes respect for women and the de-stigmatizing of abortion, furthering the feminist movement by uniting pro-choice activists and health care providers across the country. Working to help and respect women in their health care on a personal level as well as working to change society’s attitudes regarding abortion is what will ultimately make a difference in the landscape of reproductive rights.

What did attending this conference tell you about the future of the pro-choice movement?

That it’s going strong! I met so many women from varied backgrounds, of different ages, from different parts of the country, all of whom are working in some way or another to promote reproductive rights. It was great to get to see what people in other areas are doing to further the movement in their communities. The theme of the conference was The Unquenchable Fire for Reproductive Justice. Though I’ve work in Democratic politics since I graduated from college a year ago, it was nice to be in an environment where there was so much unbridled enthusiasm for the cause.

Christina is the former Communications Intern at Trust Women.

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