20 years of judgment-free support

For the last couple of years, I've volunteered as an Advocate with the All-Options Talkline. People call our line in moments of stress and high emotion, when they are making decisions and processing experiences related to a wide spectrum of very personal issues: pregnancy, parenting, abortion, adoption, infertility, miscarriage or pregnancy loss, and often, a combination of these things. Our role is to provide compassionate, nonjudgemental support and create space for our callers to feel heard.

Between the state of our healthcare system, the constantly shifting landscape of reproductive health care (particularly including abortion), and the cultural taboo/stigma that places a blanket of silence over many of these topics, it's all-too-common that people find themselves feeling devastatingly alone as they navigate a situation in their life where they most need to feel supported and safe. From the first call that I took on the Talkline, I became a huge believer in the power of simply bearing witness to someone's feelings. Doing this work means slowing down, setting aside the idea of problem solving, and embracing the challenging messiness of humanity.

Since carrying a pregnancy to full term, I am more firmly rooted than ever in my belief that our personal reproductive journeys are a unique experience to each of us that absolutely no one can interpret for us. The number of callers I have spoken to on the Talkline who are suffering and in pain emotionally because they think they are supposed to feel differently than they do, or that they should feel nothing at all, or that they have no right their feelings - it breaks my heart. While I have no idea what the future holds in this country for things like abortion access, family planning, maternal healthcare, or other things that our callers grapple with, I do know that we can promise to show up for each other in times of difficulty with a patient ear and a shoulder to lean on, and absolutely no agenda, judgement, or expectations.

Our journey to starting a family was overflowing with love and support. I never doubted that I could share exactly what I was feeling, or that I would be seen, held, and helped, whatever challenges I faced. I would love to extend the beautiful love and care of our community to support the All-Options Talkline as they celebrate their 20th anniversary. Your donation will help them keep providing judgment-free emotional support for all reproductive experiences and decisions.