Access to safe, timely, affordable, and respectful abortion care is integral to comprehensive reproductive healthcare and human rights. Abortion seekers face multiple barriers to care, including restrictive policies, difficulty finding a provider, and stigmatization, which can reduce the willingness of others to help.5 Practical support is the term for services that reduce the financial and logistical barriers to abortion care It is provided directly to the person seeking the abortion, through mutual aid, or through financial assistance.
Over the past five decades, local, regional, and national organizations have provided assistance, including practical support, to abortion seekers. These organizations are staffed by volunteers and, increasingly often, by paid employees, i.e., Practical Support Workers. This marks a shift in how this workforce is made up. Research is essential to understand the needs, well-being, capacity, and integration of this workforce.