Desert Star Institute For Family Planning Inc

Next Generation Abortion Providers Program trains medical students, residents, and attending physicians in reproductive health care with an emphasis on abortion training. Clinical instruction includes abortion, contraception, early pregnancy loss, other common women's health conditions, and care of transgender adults. To date, people from 21 states and 3 regions of Canada have traveled to Phoenix to be trained. We apply a reproductive justice lens to our work, so trainees have and experience very different from their traditional clinical rotations. We believe that learning about abortion in an environment where abortion occurs alongside general well-woman care increases student awareness and understanding that abortion is health care. In turn, they are inspired to advocate for women's reproductive healthcare access and delivery, and are empowered to become advocates within their own communities. 2 - 4 week rotations can be scheduled at the Desert Star Health Justice Clinic. We are a preferred site for the Medical Students for Choice Reproductive Health Externship Program and now have partnerships with several additional organizations as referral sources for training. 5 people were trained over 16 total training weeks in 2024. Impacted by the political landscape and looming 1864 total abortion ban that was ultimately repealed, we paused our training program as we awaited how the litigation and additional efforts by the attorney general would impact our ability to provide abortion services, and thereby train. Two trainee institutions canceled rotations for their learners during that time.

Doulas 4 Change continuing education program for Black Doulas completed it's inaugural training cohort in the spring of 2024. The program mission is to educate, organize, and build leadership and power among Black birthers, birthworkers and their communities to influence policies and practices that decrease Black maternal mortality and morbidity in Arizona and support pregnant people's self determination in whatever pregnancy outcome they choose. Our goal in creating a doula-promotora model is to strengthen the skills of these needed community health workers to advocate for the communities they serve. Six doulas completed the pilot program that began January 2024 and ended in May 2024. The data indicates that increased access to community-based doula care can help improve birth outcomes and reduce the higher rates of maternal morbidity and mortality among women of color in the United States, and more specifically Arizona. Empowering Black doulas with advocacy tools, peer support, policy education, and reproductive justice framework will prepare them to support families in a way they have not been trained for before. By understanding the intersectionality of what affects the lives of Black families, how to respond to crisis under trauma informed care, and providing quality support and resources to families and each other, Black doulas are perfectly positioned to advance birth justice.