the one large risk to being criminalized is actually healthcare providers, and healthcare providers not being sure about the fact that they don't have to report someone as potentially having an abortion. So it's really unfortunate that someone could self-manage their abortion at home, they could have a question, they could have a complication or for some reason, they decide to seek out professional care from a healthcare provider. And then the healthcare provider could either be told, hey, you know, I had an abortion at home, or they could just assume that you had an abortion, and they could report you. And then that could lead to your criminalization. So again, I've talked about how much I love abortion providers, and how necessary they are to our community. Now, abortion providers who are in the movement are aware of this, they're not gonna, they're very unlikely to report you. But if we just go to the ER, like, those people aren't in repro, they're not in the movement, they don't have, they may not have this, I'm not gonna speak to their knowledge, but they may not have this frame of knowledge or come from the space that repro providers who are working in the space come from, and they may not be acting maliciously, they may not know, they may think they have to report, you know. That is a real risk, so I just say that so that you're aware, if you're ever seeking expert healthcare advice, specifically in the ER after having an abortion, not to discourage you, not telling you what to do, or what you shouldn't do. But I think it's important that people know what could happen. So that if this does arise, you know, you know all the information so you can make decisions that are best for you. So that was a really great thing that I learned, because I didn't know that. And then another risk of criminalization is just people that you know, so if you disclose to someone they could potentially report you. Now that one was, it's really hard to wrap my head around. I don't know if it's because of my friends are all in repro. And like, I couldn't even imagine them doing that. But yeah, you could tell someone, and they could tell someone and maybe that person I don't know, could report it. So that's what happens when you live in a stigmatized society. People report on each other, which is so sad because we talk about abortion as being community care, and you know how to build systems of support around yourself as you're having an abortion but then also being mindful that the people around you can also be a threat of risk. So it's like telling you to pull in community but also to fear community at the same time, which feels really gross to say, but that is another risk to being criminalized. But if you're not someone who would report a friend or someone you know, or a friend of a friend or having an abortion, I want to talk a little bit about the way you can get involved in supporting people access abortion care and supporting people through their abortions. And just you know how to be a support system, even though I just said everything I just said about the potential risk of criminalization. So again, we've talked about what self-managed abortion is, what abortion pills are, the benefits of abortion pills. Now let's talk about how you can support the fight for abortion access and support the people in your community. One of the first things that come to mind when talking about supporting abortion access and supporting abortion havers is becoming an abortion doula. For those of you who don't know what a doula in general is, a doula is typically assumed to be a birthing doula. However, there are abortion doulas, as well as death doulas, as well as many other types of doulas. So typically a doula will provide emotional support for a birthing person as well as serve as an advocate for the birthing person during labor. So that can look like if you have a birthing plan and you really want the labor process to look a certain way. You know, while you're giving birth, you might not be in the best mindspace to advocate for yourself. The abortion doula will know your wishes and can advocate on your behalf to the health care staff. Abortion doulas, however, provide emotional and practical support to someone having an abortion especially a self-managed abortion. Abortion doulas will typically answer questions about the abortion process, provide emotional and mental support to the abortion haver, they can coordinate childcare, and just make sure that the abortion haver is feeling supported and has everything that they need, from material needs to educational needs and just knowing about the process. So becoming an abortion doula is a great option to supporting abortion access because it highlights the community aspect of our reproductive lives, whether that is pregnancy, childbirth, abortion or bereavement. Unfortunately, because of colonization, we now live in isolated, individualistic societies that have deprioritized community care, but by becoming an abortion doula, you can honor the tradition of centering community by supporting abortion havers in your community, and ensuring that they have a support system during the abortion process.