Ms. Magazine has an interesting news blurb about a feminist-leaning, pro-choice hotline service in Oakland set up to allow women to “talk freely about their experience with abortion, without judgment.” The service is now expanding to nation-wide operation. The service “operates with respect for the social, cultural, and religious beliefs of all of our callers – this is the unique cornerstone of our service and philosophy”. While I’d hardly call that “unique” - most service providers in the abortion community try hard to be accepting of all aspects of their patients’ backgrounds - it’s obviously admirable.

The service’s Web site explains:

Exhale offers a free, After-Abortion Talkline that provides emotional support, resources and information. The talkline is available to women and girls who have had abortions and to their partners, friends, allies and family members. All calls are completely confidential and counselors are non-judgmental. . . .

Women and men of all backgrounds call the Exhale talkline. Some people feel relief that the abortion is finally over and they just want to tell someone. Others feel a sense of loss and are looking for ways to work through their grief. Parents, friends and partners want to learn how they can best provide support. Women may call the day of their abortion, a month after or years later.

At Exhale, we believe there is no “right” way to feel after an abortion. We also know that feelings of happiness, sadness, empowerment, anxiety, grief, relief or guilt are common. Abortion can be hard to talk about and finding the right person to talk with can be even harder. Exhale provides the opportunity to talk with someone that supports and respects you, in a safe and confidential environment.

The Ms. article notes that the Oakland service has received about 1,500 calls since 2000 - which is less than one a day. Still, there appears to be a demand for the service, and it sounds like an excellent idea.

I think this kind of service reflects a growing willingness to acknowledge the complexity of the abortion decision within the pro-choice community. The nonsense from the anti-choice community - ranging from simply fraudulent claims of a “Post-Abortion Syndrome” and flat lies about the health consequences of abortion, to continual insinuations that abortion somehow damages women - have made any admission that abortion can be regrettable a risky thing for those who support choice - it plays too much into an ongoing line of assault - however false - from the right wing. But that reluctance has been a mistake. To be sure, many people in the pro-choice community have long acknowledged the ambivalence women may feel about abortion, and the range of possible responses women may have to it. But I also think it’s fair to say that post-abortion counseling has not been a priority for supporters of abortion rights or for abortion providers - which is too bad, because it is a part of the fullness of care for abortion patients, and of an honest and thorough understanding of their experiences.

Services like this hotline, and the Pittsburgh “November Gang” of abortion clinic operators who offer in-clinic counseling services, fill a gap in dealing with abortion holistically, and possibly expand the dialogue about abortion among pro-choicers. Both, I think, are good things, and signs of growth in the abortion-rights and abortion-services communities.

The Bush Adminsitration has sicced the Department of Homeland Security on a new class of - as they see it - legally invisible non-persons: transsexual immigrant spouses of US citizens.

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