My choice, His life: Pro-choice Sidewalk Counselors?

Monday, August 14, 2006

Pro-choice Sidewalk Counselors?

There were some comments in my last post regarding pro-choice sidewalk counseling. I started to think about the idea and I think it could be very useful. While there are quite a few "pro-abortion" individuals who would NOT be helpful, someone who is truly pro-choice and can see that abortion is not the best option for all women may be helpful in the fight. I know most choicers would sooner die than stand outside of an abortion clinic(well, at least on the pro-life side of the street) but I think there is a place for compassionate choicers on the sidewalk.

Thoughts?

6 Comments:

Pro-choice sidewalk counselors would certainly be novel and credible. And the "Chicago method" might be attractive to them, the idea of steering women away from unsafe facilities.

By Christina Dunigan, at 11:57 AM
While I certainly have some interest in helping women with pre-abortion counseling/discernment, and as a clinic escort, there is no way you'd find me on the other side of the street. I know that sidewalk counselors in many places are respectful, but at the clinic where I volunteer, they are rude, cruel, and offensive. I certainly wouldn't do anything with them.

That's not to say that I only help women who will have an abortion. I have escorted women back to their cars when they change their minds (and still want nothing to do with the sidewalk counselors at this clinic).

Also, here in Minnesota, the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice provides women with free crisis pregnancy counseling with clergy if they so desire.

By Johanna for Justice, at 9:27 AM
I'm sorry to hear that the sidewalk counselors are more like sidewalk hecklers at the clinic where you volunteer.

I don't think many women turn away from abortion because they were called a whore. It seems like the hecklers are more interested in shaming the women than finding them help to continue their pregnancy and that is unfortunate.

I truly think these type of people are rare, but I do not doubt they exist.

As escorts I imagine you could be helpful in insuring that women are not aborting because they feel like they "have to" although they don't want to.

As far as the RCRC, I find them to be very offensive. I've read alot of their writings and they seem to do alot of bible skewing. It disheartens me that women would go to them for spiritual counsel.

By Lauren, at 12:36 PM
While you may find RCRC offensive, they are providing counseling on ALL options in Minnesota and are sponsoring a nationwide "Healthy Families" campaign to support education (not only sex-ed, but funding schools), nutrition programs, welfare reform, etc, to give women a full range of options and make sure that if they choose to continue a pregnancy, they can meet their and their children's basic needs. Mostly, I wanted to let you know that there are efforts on the pro-choice side to help women who may not want an abortion.

Also, where I volunteer, there is in-house counseling and they will not perform a procedure on someone who feels they are being forced or who don't really want an abortion. As an escort, our level of involvement is based on the patient's desires, and we are not trained for counseling. Like I said, I'll happily walk her back to her car if she so desires.

By Johanna for Justice, at 9:58 AM
I wish it didn`t have to be an
"other side of the street" choice. It seems as if you have to be pick only one option: be 100% pro-life or 100% pro-choice. I know many pro-choice people who want to help women who choose NOT to have abortions -- it seems as if this is one area in which the two "sides" can cooperate.

And I want to make the point that both "sides" are equally exclusive of the other: I once called Birthright and offered to volunteer, and explained to them that I was personally not pro-life but I wanted to help women facing crisis pregnancies who decide they want to carry to term. They were very nice, but said, "Call us back when you`re 100% pro-life -- even 95% isn`t good enough for us."

By L., at 9:13 AM
That's basically what I'm saying, that it could be a cooperation situation rather than a "sides" issue.

The problem with dividing this sort of thing along idiological lines is that it creates suspicion. When one side doesn't know what the other is doing, they assume the worse.

I know that I've had personal experiences with planned parenthood that make me seriously doubt their ability to take my choice to parent as a viable option and support me in that choice. I realize it is possible that I talked to the only 3 anti-parenting counselors in the organization and the rest are respectful. It's just doubtful.

Likewise I'm sure that there are a few pro-life groups that have been aggressive in their persuit for life. Without seeing the rest of us, it is understandable that people on the pro-choice side would assume we are all rabid women haters.

I think for the goal of fewer abortions to ever come to predition we need to work together. L, I honestly think you would be a wonderful crisis pregnancy counselor. The fact that you acknowledge that abortion is not the best answer for every "crisis" pregnancy puts you in a place to help those women.

I think a nonaffiliated resource would be a wonderful thing. The currant system of having abortion as a product and the "counselors" as sells people doesn't seem fair. It seems that the pro-life side has to be the ones offering the alternate choice, but it doesn't have to be that way.

I think the only way we can put a stop to sociatally pressured abortion is to work together to end it. A bill to stop coerced abortions should not be a "pro-life" bill. Nor should it be a "pro-life" bill to help mothers continue their education.

These should be "pro-women" actions that we can all agree on. I just fear that this won't happen because it cuts into planned parenthood's bottom line.
As a pro-choice individual I urdge you to encourage planned parenthood,now,naral,ect. to support women who choose to parent and women who feel that society says they can't parent. Until then abortion will remain rampant and women will remain hurt.

By Lauren, at 10:13 AM