A youth-led abortion advocacy network recently held a two-day, in-person Abortion Support Training at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, explicitly inviting participants as young as 14 years old.
The event, staged in November, was organized by the Youth Abortion Support Collective (YouthASC), a national coalition of young activists operating under the umbrella of the progressive group Advocates for Youth. According to Gateway Pundit, the training was marketed as a gateway for teenagers and college students to enter the world of abortion support work, raising serious concerns among parents and observers about the ideological targeting of minors.
The official invitation made clear that the program was designed for adolescents and young adults, stating, This training is for young people ages 14-24 and will provide an introduction to the tools, resources, and skills for abortion support work. Organizers added, We welcome anyone who is interested in becoming an abortion doula, companion, and/or support person. The training will center youth-led abortion support efforts, specifically for high school and college students, but we will also discuss how to offer support as community members and continue advocacy after leaving campus.
YouthASC promoted the event as a comprehensive introduction to the abortion support ecosystem, including both clinical and non-clinical environments for procedural and chemical abortions. The curriculum also included guidance on how to organize campus communities and build activist networks, effectively turning high schools and universities into hubs for abortion-related mobilization.
The role of an abortion doula was defined in the invitation using language from Dopo, a partner organization that helped craft the training materials. The definition described an abortion doula as Anyone that can physically, emotionally, and/or spiritually hold space for someone before, during, and/or after abortion. In practice, this means young people are being trained not only to normalize abortion among their peers, but to embed themselves in the process as emotional and logistical facilitators.
The training was advertised as part of a broader national campaign by YouthASC to make abortion doula instruction widely available to activists aged 1424. Advocates for Youth has previously run similar youth-focused initiatives, including multi-week online courses and in-person sessions at other campuses, signaling a sustained effort to cultivate a new generation of abortion advocates.
Beyond training, the group has hosted panels on abortion funding for minors, challenges young people face in accessing care, and the state of abortion access in our region. Such programming underscores a strategic focus on minors, not merely as potential clients of the abortion industry, but as messengers and organizers within their own schools and communities.
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte confirmed its role in facilitating the event, while attempting to distance the institution from its content. A university spokesperson told Fox News, This particular event was organized and hosted by a registered student organization. The University is a marketplace of ideas, and as a public institution, we provide space on our campus for our students and student organizations to hold a wide range of events and discussions consistent with University and UNC System policies and state and federal law.
The spokesperson further emphasized institutional neutrality, stating, All groups holding events must follow applicable policies, including those related to minors and safety. We remain neutral on the diverse social and political points of view expressed by the more than 450 registered student organizations on our campus. Their events do not represent the views of the University. While the university cites free expression, many parents and taxpayers may question whether a public campus should be hosting programs that actively draw minors into abortion activism.
Breitbart News has previously documented the growing prominence and commercialization of abortion doulas within the broader abortion industry. The outlet noted that So-called abortion doulas sometimes work for free or on a sliding scale, while others may charge $200 to $800 for their services, KGOU reported in 2022, illustrating how a supposedly supportive role can also become a revenue stream tied directly to abortion access.
This youth-focused push is not new, but it is accelerating. Breitbart reported in 2021 that two abortion doulas produced a childrens book designed to portray abortion as simply another outcome of pregnancy, and that the authors were working with abortion giant Planned Parenthood and Abortion Care Network to donate the book to clinics across the United States. For conservatives who believe children should be protected from ideological indoctrination and that the sanctity of unborn life is non-negotiable, the spectacle of 14-year-olds being groomed as abortion support personnel on taxpayer-funded campuses is not just troublingit is a stark warning about where the culture war over life and family is headed.
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