Requesting to take the Products of Conception home
This letter is intended to be given to your healthcare provider to help you request to take the products of conception home following your procedural abortion.
To increase the likelihood of this accommodation being met, this request should be made to healthcare providers as early as possible–such as during your initial contact with them.
From our conversations, Indigenous community members highlighted that they would have liked the option to take home the products of conception so that they could do a burial and ceremony. We recognize that this may not align with everyone’s needs.
If so, there are other cultural practices you could ask service providers to incorporate for a more personalized experience. For example, some facilities allow smudging before a procedural abortion, or you might request a private moment for reflection or prayer beforehand.