Seven Gates

Gate 1

Recognition

Something Has Arrived

Central Question

What happened when you realized you were pregnant?

The Body

How many weeks pregnant are you?

When did you first suspect you might be pregnant?

When did you confirm the pregnancy?

How did you confirm it?

Home Pregnancy Test Blood Test Ultrasound Other

Have you experienced any previous:

Pregnancies Births Abortions Miscarriages Fertility Treatments Cesarean Sections PCOS Fibroids Endometriosis Anemia Other

Please share anything important about the reproductive history of your body.

The Experience

Tell us the story of discovering you were pregnant.

What was happening in your life at the time?

Where were you?

Who was with you?

Many people remember the exact moment they realized they were pregnant.

What did you feel when you first saw the two lines?

Take a moment and return to that exact moment.

What happened in your body?

What happened emotionally?

What thoughts came first?

What happened next?

Did your feelings change over the following hours or days? How?

Many people say their body knew before their mind did.

Did that happen for you?

How did your body communicate with you?

What surprised you most about becoming pregnant?

The Meaning

Looking back now, what did this pregnancy represent when it first arrived?

Possibility Crisis Future Loss Crossroads Responsibility Surprise Something Else

What was the first thing this pregnancy asked of you?

Who were you before this pregnancy?

Who began emerging after it?

Gate 2

Discernment

Listening For The Truth

Central Question

How did you come to your decision?

The Body

How confident do you feel in your decision today?

Completely Certain Mostly Certain Unsure Moving Back and Forth Not Certain

What factors influenced your decision?

Partner Current Children Family Housing Finances School Work Physical Health Mental Health Religion Spirituality Future Goals Safety Desire To Be Child-Free Readiness To Parent Other

The Experience

Tell us the story of your decision.

Who helped you hear yourself?

Who made it harder?

What conversations mattered most?

What felt clear?

What felt confusing?

The Meaning

Head

What practical realities were speaking? What concerns, responsibilities, opportunities, or limitations were present?

Heart

What emotions were speaking? What did your heart most want? What did your heart most fear?

Womb

What was the nurturing, parenting, family, lineage, or caregiving part of you saying?

Pussy

What was the sexual, embodied, autonomous, pleasure-seeking, identity-forming part of you saying?

The Could-Have-Been Child

Some people experience abortion as a conversation with a future child. Others experience it as a conversation with a soul, spirit, possibility, or future. Others do not. There is no right answer.

Do you sense a soul, spirit, future child, presence, possibility, or potential life connected to this pregnancy?

Yes No Unsure

Tell us about that experience. Is there anything you would like to say?

What did you need to let go of to make your decision?

What still felt unresolved when you chose your path?

Gate 3

Preparation

Gathering What You Need

Central Question

How did you prepare to enter this experience?

The Body

What abortion method are you using?

Mifepristone + Misoprostol Misoprostol Only Other

Where did you obtain your pills?

Will anyone support you during the abortion?

Yes No

If yes, who?

The Experience

Why did you choose this particular day?

What preparations did you make?

Did you prepare:

Time Off Work Childcare Food Pain Medication Transportation Private Space Support Person Other

The Meaning

What are you hoping for as you enter this experience?

What are you most afraid of?

What are you carrying with you into this experience?

What do you hope to leave behind?

Did you create:

Prayer Ritual Altar Bath Music Ceremony Other

Tell us about it.

What does your body need from you right now?

Gate 4

Threshold

Crossing Over

Central Question

What happened when there was no turning back?

The Body

Mifepristone

Date taken

Time taken

Misoprostol

Date taken

Time taken

How many Misoprostol tablets did you take?

Did you take additional doses?

Yes No

If yes, how many?

At what times?

The Experience

What did it feel like to take Mifepristone?

What changed afterward?

Physically?

Emotionally?

Spiritually?

What did it feel like to take Misoprostol?

Was there a moment where the process suddenly became real?

The Meaning

What were you trusting?

What were you afraid of?

What did you surrender as you crossed this threshold?

Gate 5

Blood as Messenger

Opening, Uncertainty & Trust

Central Question

What did your blood teach you?

Every uterus releases differently. Some begin quickly. Some take hours. Some bleed heavily. Some bleed very little.

Some release steadily. Some release in waves. Some stop and begin again.

Some people immediately trust the process. Others spend hours or days wondering if the abortion is working. All of these experiences are normal.

The Body

How many hours after Misoprostol did bleeding begin?

Less than 1 Hour 1–2 Hours 2–4 Hours 4–6 Hours 6–12 Hours More than 12 Hours No Bleeding Unsure

How would you describe your bleeding?

Spotting Mild Moderate Heavy Intermittent No Bleeding

Compared to your normal period:

Lighter Similar Heavier

Did the bleeding:

Increase Gradually Begin Heavily Stop and Restart Come in Waves Remain Consistent Other

When was bleeding strongest?

How many pads were used during the heaviest hour?

Did you pass:

Blood Clots Tissue Unsure

What was the highest pain level you experienced?

0 = No Pain · 10 = Worst Pain Imaginable

What symptoms accompanied the bleeding?

Cramps Nausea Vomiting Diarrhea Chills Fever Dizziness Fatigue Shaking Other

The Experience

Tell us the story of your bleeding.

How did it compare to what you expected?

Did the bleeding surprise you?

Did it ever stop and then return? What was that experience like?

Was there a moment when you wondered if the abortion was working? How did you navigate that uncertainty?

At the most intense moment:

What was happening physically?

What was happening emotionally?

What was happening spiritually?

Did you notice your understanding of abortion changing as the bleeding changed?

When did you begin trusting the process?

When did you begin trusting your body?

What helped you stay grounded?

The Meaning

Before this abortion, what did blood mean to you?

Did that meaning change?

Many people experience blood as carrying information.

Looking back now, what did your bleeding seem to communicate?

Did the bleeding feel like:

Release Confirmation Relief Grief Transformation Uncertainty Strength Something Else

Tell us more.

What was your body teaching you during this stage?

Gate 6

Release

What Left

Central Question

How did you know something had changed?

The Body

Do you believe the pregnancy passed?

Not Sure Maybe I Felt It I Felt It And Saw It Medical Confirmation

When do you believe the pregnancy passed?

Date

Time

Did you see:

Blood Clot Tissue Gestational Sac Embryo/Fetus Placental Tissue Unsure Nothing Visible

Would you like to upload a photo?

What happened to your bleeding afterward?

Became Lighter Stayed Heavy Stopped Then Restarted Continued Like A Period Unsure

What happened to your pregnancy symptoms afterward?

Disappeared Quickly Reduced Gradually Stayed The Same Unsure

The Experience

Tell us about the moment of release.

Many people describe: a gush · a plop · a wave · a reduction in pressure · a shift in pain · a sudden knowing.

What happened for you?

Were you certain immediately? Or did certainty come later?

What was your first thought?

What was your first feeling?

Did seeing—or not seeing—the pregnancy matter to you?

The Meaning

What meaning did that moment carry?

Did you feel called toward ritual?

Prayer Burial Offering Journaling Art Music Planting Something Ceremony Other

Tell us about it.

What else left besides the pregnancy?

Fear left A relationship left Shame left A future left An identity left Something else left

Gate 7

Return

What Remains

Central Question

Who are you now?

The Body

How many days did bleeding continue?

Did bleeding stop and restart?

Yes No

When did pregnancy symptoms disappear?

Have you taken a follow-up pregnancy test?

Yes No

If yes, what was the result?

Has your menstrual cycle returned?

Yes No

If yes, when?

The Experience

Looking back:

What surprised you?

What was harder than expected?

What was easier than expected?

At what point did you know you would be okay?

What did you learn about your body?

What did you learn about yourself?

The Meaning

Head

What does Head say now?

Heart

What does Heart say now?

Womb

What does Womb say now?

Pussy

What does Pussy say now?

Has your relationship with any of these changed?

Pregnancy Abortion Motherhood Spirituality Sexuality Your Body Relationships

Tell us more.

What still asks to be witnessed?

What still needs care?

What feels complete?

What story do you want remembered?

What would you want another person standing at Gate One to know?

7 Gates

Recognition

The Body

The Experience

The Meaning

Discernment

The Body

The Experience

The Meaning

Preparation

The Body

The Experience

The Meaning

Threshold

The Body

The Experience

The Meaning

Blood as Messenger

The Body

The Experience

The Meaning

Release

The Body

The Experience

The Meaning

Return

The Body

The Experience

The Meaning

The seventh gate closes.