Every year, the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies presents the Feminist Practice Award to majors and minors whose work in community service or social action best exemplifies the application of feminist thought to practice. The winner of the 2021 Feminist Practice Award is the Lunar Doula Collective (LDC), Michigan’s first pregnancy loss and abortion doula organization.
Founded by undergraduate students Brianna Giese (they/them) and Anna Stabnick (she/her), the Lunar Doula Collective provides emotional, psychological, and logistical support to people who are experiencing reproductive loss through miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion. Within the short period of one year, members of the collective conducted an impressive amount of research, compiled a comprehensive reproductive loss support literature review, and interviewed dozens of community leaders and stakeholders. Based on their findings, they partnered with a local hospital to develop a volunteer program, recruited and trained 55 volunteer lunar doulas, and started a complementary campus club with over 40 active students. A model for inclusivity, LDC embraces and enacts reproductive health equity for all humans regardless of sexual, racial, and gender identities, and demonstrates an exemplary application of feminist principles to health care practices.
Congratulations to the Lunar Dula Collective! Learn more about the Collective on their website.
