WS Chronicle

By Breanna Grant

A client whom I supported as a doula in the birth of her first child came to me months later to inquire about the what/where/how of an abortion. She needed support to see her decision through. She was referred to the Carolina Abortion Fund for financial support and was able to secure supplemental funding. Through this process she expressed two mind-provoking thoughts: “I didn’t know a doula could help me with something like this,” and “I don’t know what my steps would have been if the fund did not answer my call.”

For the last seven years, I have supported my clients as they navigate their reproductive health options, including during pregnancy, birth, and the post-partum period. Many folks from marginalized groups, especially Black and brown women, face barriers to care and struggle to find or access the services they need. This has become far more severe in the wake of the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

There is a maternal health crisis in our country, including right here in North Carolina. It is particularly prominent for Black Americans. While Black people are 22% of the population here in North Carolina, Black women accounted for 43% of pregnancy-related deaths between 2020 and 2022. Within North Carolina, the Triad’s Black infant and maternal rates are higher than the state’s overall. That is unacceptable. The abortion bans that Trump brags about unleashing are making these trends worse. A survey of OB/GYNs from last year reveals the majority believe the overturning of Roe v. Wade has exacerbated pregnancy mortality and racial disparities.

These statistics are deeply concerning, and reflect the experiences my clients have had. I’ve seen heightened anxiety and fear from my community because of uncertainty and expression around limiting reproductive health access. Black women in particular are worried about our concerns not being heard or addressed by lawmakers. We worry about being able to access life-saving, emergency care if something goes wrong. When we seek to grow our families, we worry about whether we will have access to fertility treatments if we have trouble conceiving. If we do not wish to grow our families, we worry about continued access to reliable contraception.

Even before North Carolina’s abortion ban took effect, we faced a shortage of reproductive health care providers in our state. Now, these providers are leaving North Carolina because they are fearful just for caring for their patients.

Trump’s Project 2025 would make the crisis here far worse. It would further limit women’s freedoms and their ability to access reproductive care by banning abortion nationwide, slashing access to contraception, and even criminalizing physicians for providing the reproductive health care their patients need. 

This agenda is terrifying – we need someone in the White House who fights to protect our health, not compromise it. We should be celebrating our hard-won reproductive freedoms and looking toward the future, but instead we are fighting not to go backwards.

Vice President Kamala Harris has a proven track record when it comes to protecting reproductive health care. In her nearly four years as vice president, she has been at the forefront of the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to tackle the maternal health crisis head on. She developed the Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis, increased funding by $190 million to combat maternal mortality and morbidity, launched programs to counter  preventable pregnancy-related deaths, and set up a mental health hotline for expecting and new mothers. Vice President Harris and Governor Walz have the dedication, compassion, and fight we need to end the maternal health crisis and close the racial disparities in pregnancy-related health outcomes. 

This year, we’re facing a critical election where our freedoms and access to reproductive health care are on the ballot. As a health educator and full spectrum doula, I am proud to be voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz who are fighting to protect everyone’s right to make their own health care decisions.

Reproductive freedom is on the ballot this November and it is up to us to elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walz to protect it.

Breanna Grant Breanna comes from a rural town in eastern North Carolina that taught her the importance of family. She entered birth work through her passion for supporting pregnant and parenting teens and young adults. As a doula and educator, Breanna believes folks deserve all the support available to them during their journeys.