An Abortion Doula is a person trained to provided emotional, physical and informational support before, during and after an abortion. Many of us have heard of a birth or labour doula, some of us have heard of a postpartum or death doula. The role of a doula is to offer non-judgemental, non-medical, information-based support to a person. Abortion doulas tend to focus more on the emotional and informational support roles of doula care; however physical support can be offered through attending an appointment, or holding your hand.

The word doula comes from ancient Greek and means woman who serves. While doulas can be any gender, stereotypically people who work as doulas are often white women. The image of a white woman taking a role of someone who serves others can be interpreted as romanticizing the work of domestic servants, which are frequently Black and Indigenous People of Colour. SASN uses the word doula as it is familiar to many people; however we prefer to call ourselves abortion support volunteers.

Our core group of volunteers are based in Saskatoon, however we understand and appreciate that the lack of abortion care in rural and northern Saskatchewan means that people frequently need to travel to Saskatoon or Regina for abortion care. If you need support before, during or after your abortion, please contact us, even if you do not live in Saskatoon.