AcompañantAs

The Acompañantas weave bonds of sisterhood around abortion, they offer free guidance through empathy, care, and emotional support during all the process. Born from the "Marea Verde" movement, they create safe spaces, fight stigma, and expand transnational

In the context of the evolving legislation on abortion decriminalization in Latin America and the United States, a new generation of young women is emerging who have taken on the task of accompanying their peers through the abortion process, completely free of charge and in a spirit of sisterhood, based on empathy, emotional support, and care among women. These abortion doulas are called "Acompañantas."

In Latin America, some women are building a network of mutual support and providing follow-up at every stage of the abortion process. Women of different backgrounds—mothers, students, sisters, or even activists—all united by a single cause: the right to decide over their bodies. Like the green glitter found in feminist demonstrations, they slip through and shine only by acting in the shadows.

The dominance of the Church and conservative political groups has led to the development of a black market for Misoprostol (the medication used to perform an abortion), and abortions are often carried out clandestinely. The misinformation and guilt- tripping of young women seeking abortions often lead to traumatic experiences for them. Thus, it is together and hand in hand that they will experience this ordeal, where sharing and reciprocity make no distinction between the one accompanying and the one terminating her pregnancy.

So, behind their lively and sparkling appearances, the strength of the claim that the "Marea Verde" has allowed Latin America to reflect on what the right to decide means regarding health and care. Thanks to the brilliance of these feelings of love and compassion, they offer a safe space, legal advice, and emotional support, but above all remind all girls more than ever that they are not alone. Today, the Acompañantas seek to expand on a transnational scale, especially after the abortion decision was overturned in the United States.

By following the journey of several Acompañantas from north to south across American countries, we understand the contextual differences each one must face. From there arises the spark of the Acompañantas' struggle that these women try to highlight every day in the public square. The activist interventions found in the streets have thus inspired the plastic intervention of the images, here radiating their actions, to pay homage to them. Here, green shines and the color of hope radiates, that of a flourishing struggle, where women reach out to each other.

Having had an abortion myself in Mexico and, as a result, trained as an abortion doula too, I have been working since 2021 on a long-term photographic project focused on abortion doula networks in Latin America and the United States. My work emphasizes the significance of these collectives in supporting access to abortion and defending reproductive rights.