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Reproductive Justice and Gender

The Abortion Counseling Conundrum

By Dana Goldstein, The American Prospect. Posted August 8, 2008.


Many women who've had abortions benefit from non-ideological counseling. So why are groups that provide those services having trouble raising money?
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"I had a previous abortion at age 21, and it wasn't this hard. It didn't seem like a 'baby' to me at that age. But after raising two children I know now that I really did lose a living being inside me." -- An anonymous participant in Emerge, a pro-choice support group for women who've had abortions

Those sentiments would raise the eyebrows of many a pro-choice activist. After all, the feminist movement is built upon the cornerstone of women controlling their reproductive destinies -- on the imperative of valuing women's lives over the potential for life represented by a pregnancy. In the past, that often meant not talking at all about post-abortive women's feelings about the fetus.

But that is changing. The anti-abortion rights movement has become more sophisticated in recent years, co-opting themes of female empowerment to argue that women are abortion's central victims -- a line of reasoning that reached the Supreme Court in last year's Gonzales v. Carhart decision. In response, some reproductive health advocates have decided to deal head-on with the psychological aftermath of abortion. And though they're winning over skeptical elements of the pro-choice movement, these younger activists are having trouble convincing donors to fund their cause.

While most doctors agree so-called "Post Abortion Syndrome" is a myth, there is no doubt that dealing with an unplanned pregnancy can lead to anxiety and depression for some women. "It's about the relationship they were in when they got pregnant, or the fact they're currently financially dependent, or the relationship they had with their mother or father," says Nikki Madsen, associate director of Pro-Choice Resources, a Minneapolis-based non-profit that works to increase access to abortion and other reproductive health services. "An unplanned pregnancy elevates those things in our lives."

So in 2006, Pro-Choice Resources began hosting Emerge, a six-week secular support group for women who'd had abortions -- the first pro-choice after-abortion support group in the nation. And in San Francisco eight years ago, five women in their twenties and thirties who'd had abortions launched Exhale, a national telephone hotline offering non-ideological counseling to post-abortive women. Both groups are treading uncharted ground; nationwide, almost every support group and talk line for post-abortive women is sponsored by religious groups that oppose abortion rights.

Pro-choice leaders initially worried that discussing abortion's after effects would play into Christian right talking points. But both organizations have track records of success. Since 2002, Exhale has served 15,000 women on its hotline, and while Emerge is a local group that has reached only a few dozen people, pro-choice groups across the country are using it as a model for new post-abortion counseling services, Madsen says.

Nevertheless, both Exhale and Emerge are in danger of going under. The problem? Lack of funding from health foundations scared to tackle abortion and from pro-choice donors worried about discussing abortion's psychological complications.

"Big health funders won't touch these issues," says Shira Saperstein, deputy director at the Moriah Fund, which has given Exhale, the national hotline, a $30,000 grant. Exhale had a budget of $272,000 last year. The group hopes to create a social networking website where women who've had abortions can share their stories and connect with one another, says Aspen Baker, Exhale's co-founder and executive director. For that, Exhale hopes to raise $450,000 before the end of 2008. But for an organization that has lost some of its major funders and continues to attract a typical grant of only about $30,000, it will be an uphill climb.

"The thing that makes us unique and special is also sometimes our biggest challenge," Baker told the Prospect. A direct service organization at the edges of a contentious political debate, "We don't fit into sort of traditional categories."

Indeed, Exhale refuses to identify as "pro-choice," calling itself "pro-voice" instead. At an off-the-record meeting with pro-choice professionals in Washington, D.C. on June 19, Baker fielded many questions about how her organization could accomplish its goal of reducing abortion's stigma without taking a stance on whether the procedure should be legal.


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There's a balance
Posted by: fanny666 on Aug 8, 2008 8:25 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Obviously, many on the anti-choice side greatly exaggerate the effects of abortion- from breast cancer to suicide. But I think that Hillary Clinton was completely right- it IS a difficult decision for many women, even though study after study has shown that the primary emotion felt after an abortion is relief. That's because the vast majority of women DO consider it a serious decision, and they make sure they make the right one.

I think it's a mistake when we on the pro-choice side try to pretend that it's not a big deal to get an abortion. It can be a right choice, a moral choice, and a choice that brings a feeling of relief- without necessarily being an easy choice.

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» RE: There's a balance Posted by: luzmejor
abortion is complex because women are whole people
Posted by: Kelpie on Aug 8, 2008 10:40 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Humans have always practiced abortion. It has helped me to know that and to discover some of the ways culture and myth have been used to incorporate the experience in a moral life.

I recommend "The Sacrament of Abortion" by Jungian analyst Ginette Paris.

For a cross-cultural exploration of myths and religious practices around abortion, see

earthislandangels.com

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Independent Thinker
Posted by: xtine on Aug 8, 2008 12:17 PM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Its interesting that there are so few comments posted in response to this article. I remember working for a free clinic in the mid seventies and signing up to be trained to provide pregnancy counseling for women who were considering their choices. Having had an abortion and feeling sad (not traumatized) but wanting to be able to put it into a context where I could process it, I asked about how we might respond to women's concerns about their feelings after having an abortion. I didn't realize that this was a big faux pas on my part. I didn't regret my choice at the time, and it wasn't even that big a problem to me at all, but in retrospect, I think that even in those early days, people just didn't know how to be authentic in regard to this issue. Why not just be truthful? Some women are fine with it, others are not, some like me are sort of in between, and its all real.

But I think we need to tell the truth about whatever it is that we feel and I don't see anything wrong with a woman getting a chance to think about how she might feel about her choice in the future, or being told that there are a wide variety of emotions involved.

I was also very involved with the Berkeley chapter of NOW at that time and abortion was a concern, but we had not come up with the term 'choice' at that time. Abortion was not the cornerstone of feminism in those days, we were really more concerned about equal pay for equal work, equal say in public policy, a fairer distribution of housework and child rearing, and being treated with dignity and respect. Feminists had a variety of opinions about abortion, and not all were in favor of it by any means.

A look at history reveals that the feminists of the 19th century were pretty united in opposition to abortion. Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and others spoke out against abortion for the same reason they opposed slavery, they did not like the idea of anyone being treated as "...property to be disposed of" to quote Susan B. Anthony.

In the seventies, one of the biggest concerns was that men regarded women as sexual objects, not as human beings. This dehumanization of women and minorities was more of a cornerstone for most of us than abortion was. We had hopes in those days of having a real impact on our culture and we dreamed of an America where men and women both worked outside the home part time and shared equally in the nurturing and education their children. We thought women would have a positive impact on the corporate world and would show men how cooperation works better than killer competition. We wanted workplaces which accommodated people who had children, not punished them. I think we really believed we could create a society where there would be no need for abortion, not only because the workplace and men would be supportive, but also because our sexual relationships would be loving and respectful. We didn't anticipate that some women would want to be sexually liberated and use men as sexual objects, or that they would want to compete with men for status and power. We were like most idealists, we didn't have a realistic view of human nature.

But one thing I know for sure, in 1973 no one ever expected that abortion would be something that 43% of American women would experience at some point in their lives, or that it would divide the left and the right the way it has. In fact, I would guess that most people would have thought the left would be the opponents of abortion, and the right would support it as being efficient, economical and better for the tax payers than welfare, education and prison costs.

Who knew?

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» RE: Independent Thinker Posted by: luzmejor
Naval Gazing
Posted by: Arlene on Aug 9, 2008 12:52 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Having had both an illegal and legal abortion, I really don't understand all the angst over the procedure. The legal one was better and less painful, and both hurt far less worse than pregnancy and childbirth, and no, the baby wasn't compensation for the trauma.

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» RE: Nav(e)l Gazing Posted by: klondike_yukon
» RE: Naval Gazing Posted by: luzmejor
TALK, TALK, TALK
Posted by: VZEQICVA on Aug 10, 2008 2:57 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
If a woman has a need to "talk" we should provide a service that is private. Abortion is a very personal decision and not just another subject to be batted around on a web site. There's also nothing private about putting anything on any website. It's a sneaky way of finding out who's doing what. The idea that everyone 'needs to talk' about everything couldn't be further from the truth. We've become voyuers and gossip mongers. We should let these women think for themselves. ANNA

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» RE: TALK, TALK, TALK Posted by: luzmejor
Abortion forced by economic circumstance is NOT free choice :.(
Posted by: stellabloo on Aug 10, 2008 5:04 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
And I don't mind talking about it if others could learn something from my experience. In my 40's, with two children already and my career in tatters from the last pregnancy, another baby was the furthest thing from my mind.

Three years later I am ever thankful for my youngest, bright and healthy and a source of daily joy. I fervently believe in free choice (in the ultimate sense) but not at the expense of others less empowered. Women are often unduly pressured to terminate their pregnancy and in the end, they generally bear the burden of the decision either way.

I'll say it again (and as many times as need be): if we really, truly believe in the value of human life - left or right or elevated centre - if we REALLY value human life, then we would have universal healthcare, free daycare and education available in ALL 'civilized' nations. Instead we consistently work to obliterate life in the 'uncivilized' parts of the globe while paying lip-service to the rhetoric of 'pro-life' and 'pro-choice' :.(

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