Schools Teach Students as Young as 14 to Become “Abortion Doulas”

An initiative known as the Youth Abortion Support Collective is drawing criticism for offering to training students as young as 14 to be “abortion doulas,” individuals who offer support before, during, and after abortion procedures.

A former sex education teacher-turned parents’ rights advocate described her concerns about the program to The College Fix, saying “young girls are definitely vulnerable to coercion and manipulation in the abortion industry.”

Over the past year, several public colleges, such as the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, the University of Maryland at College Park, American University, and Davidson College in North Carolina, have hosted these abortion doula trainings through the collective, according to Instagram posts advertising the events.

SUPPORT LIFENEWS! If you want to help fight abortion, please donate to LifeNews.com!

The collective is affiliated with Advocates For Youth, a non-profit organization promoting “adolescent reproductive and sexual health programs,” HIV awareness, LGBTQ+ rights, and “reproductive justice.” The Fix reached out to the organization twice asking for more details about the abortion doula trainings, including their primary goals in training youth, but did not receive a response.

Its work is described as peer-based care designed to provide emotional support and reduce stigma around abortion. According to materials on its website, the collective runs training programs specifically designed for young people ages 14-24.

The abortion doula training is typically delivered as a multi-week course, often six to seven weeks long, composed of sessions lasting around two hours each. Participants are introduced to the role of an abortion doula, defined in the training as someone who can “physically, emotionally, and/or spiritually hold space” for individuals undergoing abortion.

Participants also are encouraged not only to complete the training, but to teach others, using a facilitator guide that includes lesson plans and activities designed to replicate the program in schools.

Monica Cline is critical of the program. She brings a perspective shaped by more than a decade working inside the system that she now critiques. Cline previously worked as a comprehensive sex educator and Title X training manager, receiving training from Planned Parenthood and LGBT-affiliated programs.

Cline eventually became a Christian, and founded It Takes a Family, a pro-life group aimed at restoring the role of parents in guiding their children’s development.

“The pro-choice industry … views minors from an evolutionary/materialist worldview,” she said in an exclusive interview with The College Fix last week.

“The abortion and sex education movements have long worked toward peer education,” Cline said. “My concern is that our society is normalizing the sexualization of children … and even placing them in roles where they are facilitating or supporting life-altering medical decisions.”

The emphasis on peer-led care is central to the YouthASC model. The program explicitly encourages young people to become “resources” in their own communities and help others navigate abortion access.

“‘Peer support’ sounds like a healthy and positive term. Much like ‘comprehensive sex education’ and ‘reproductive health care.’ But the abortion industry uses student peer education to bypass adult supervision,” Cline said. “Children are highly intelligent and capable, but they are also very vulnerable.”

Adults in the abortion industry “are trained to establish trust and then peddle their services to a vulnerable population that, once sexually active, will require the abortion industry’s services,” she told The Fix.

A medical professional and leader of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists echoed these concerns in an interview with The Fix recently.

“Induced abortion is not healthcare and does not empower women,” CEO Dr. Christina Francis said. “It demeans women by telling them that the only way they can succeed is by ending the life of their child.”

She said exposing adolescents to abortion procedures risks further harm and “adds another victim to the experience.”

The presence of these trainings on public college campuses raises additional concerns about the role of taxpayer-funded institutions, Cline told The Fix.

“Most colleges and universities exist on taxpayer money,” she said. “Therefore, they should not promote or host pro-abortion events … particularly those involving vulnerable minors.”

Others see the issue differently, arguing that universities have long served as hubs for student activism and health education, including peer-led initiatives.

The Youth Abortion Support Collective is part of a broader national effort to build decentralized, peer-driven abortion support networks. Organizers emphasize accessibility, community care, and the importance of equipping young people with knowledge and resources.

But as these programs grow, so do the concerns about the ethical implications of placing teenagers at the center of abortion support work. For critics like Cline, the issue ultimately comes down to who should be guiding young people.

“Parents should be the primary educators of their children,” she said.

LifeNews Note: College Fix contributor Rebecca Phillips is a student at Patrick Henry College studying international policy. She competes in varsity Moot Court and is the vice president of the Pre-Law Society. Rebecca has published work with the Heritage Foundation and has been interviewed on the Tucker Carlson Show. This column originally appeared on The College Fix.

The post Schools Teach Students as Young as 14 to Become “Abortion Doulas” appeared first on LifeNews.com.