I am a midwife who is proud to work in abortion care

The word ‘midwife’ means ‘with woman’ and since embarking on my midwifery training 17 years ago, that is exactly where I have been. I have supported women during the elation of becoming a mother, and I have held women and cried with them at the raw despair and anguish of loss. It is absolutely true what they say: midwifery is not just a job, it's a calling. This calling has lead me to my current role: I am a midwife and I work in abortion care.

I see no conflict between being a midwife and working in abortion care. At the heart of midwifery is the firm belief that we must trust women and respect the decisions that they make. I trust a women to make the right choices for them, which means respecting a woman's decision to end a pregnancy just as much as we would respect another woman's decisions about where to give birth. Once the decision to seek a termination has been made, it is my job to ensure the woman's emotional and physical wellbeing.