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Abstract

The increasing hostility of the abortion access landscape and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic have increased stressors for organizations bridging access to abortion care, such as the Chicago Abortion Fund (CAF). Through interviews with 12 current, and one recently retired, CAF Case Managers (CMs), this paper analyzes the emotional support offered in CM-caller interactions through the theoretical lens of what I call interstitial affective care. This specific mode of care work exists in the cracks of an intentionally flawed system that challenges the bounds of care possible and the capacity of caregivers. Stressful, uncertain, or isolating situations arising from oppressive societal structures are managed by CMs both through affective labor in order to reassure callers of their competency, and through care work that prioritizes holding space for callers as they navigate a stigmatized geography of care. In examining the work of CMs on CAF’s helpline, the impact of non-clinical, sustained care becomes clear, as well as the need to invest in abortion funds as sites that understand pathways to identify/overcome a host of barriers to abortion care and a broader liberated future that includes accessible, affirming abortion care.

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