For someone sitting with her

You might be a boyfriend, a mother, a roommate, a grandmother who drove in. She is the one whose body this is. Stay. Listen. You don’t have to decide for her.

We do not provide or refer for abortion. If she wants a nurse, chat is here, or a form if that’s easier. Free and private. Let her type. Don’t type for her.

What helps

Sit down. Put the phone face down for a minute. Let her say the first sentence, even if it’s only that she doesn’t know yet.

Offer a ride. Offer to wait in the lobby. Offer to stay in the car if she wants the room to herself. Ask which of those she wants. Don’t assume.

A listed pregnancy center may offer a pregnancy test and dating ultrasound at their location. Confirm with them before you go. Their phone is theirs.

Emergency

If she is soaking pads, dizzy, or cannot speak through pain, that is 911. Two thick full-size pads per hour for two consecutive hours is an ER. If she is crashing before the second hour, do not wait. Go with her.

One-sided pain, or pain in the tip of the shoulder, can be an ectopic pregnancy. That is an emergency room, not a chat window.

If she says she might hurt herself, that is 988, not a pep talk.

What does not help

Do not offer a procedure. Do not hand her leftover pills. Do not make her defend the pregnancy to you in this hour. Pressure is not support.

Alabama law makes it unlawful to perform an abortion except when needed to prevent a serious health risk to the pregnant woman. Packs can still arrive in the mail. They are two drugs, not one. A mailbox cannot tell you if the pregnancy is in the uterus.

If she wants the facts, she can read them. You can wait.

Would she rather chat with a nurse, or send the form? Free and private. Let her choose.