LGBTQ Leadership Institute 2020: Frieda Bequeaith

Frieda Bequeaith (they/them/theirs) is a certified sexual health educator, labor doula, abortion doula, and all-options counselor. They work as a program supervisor at the Young Women’s Resource Center in Des Moines, Iowa.

Frieda got their start in birth work after receiving abortion doula training through Full Spectrum Doulas in Seattle, WA, in 2016. Since then, they have been involved in various forms of reproductive health support, from participating in community doula programs to fundraising for local abortion funds. Frieda hopes to become a Certified Nurse Midwife and continue their work toward reproductive justice.

They are currently a board member of the Iowa Abortion Access Fund, a member of the 2020 National Storytellers of Planned Parenthood, chair of the local DSA’s Socialist Feminist Working Group, and member of OneIowa’s Trans and Nonbinary Advisory Council. Frieda holds a BA in sociology from the Evergreen State College. In their limited spare time, they like to garden, cook, and daydream about a world without prisons.