PRO-LIFE REMINISCING:

Pregnancy Aftermath Helpline - first post-abortion helpline in the USA/world? 

By Dan Zeidler

In the eighties and nineties, a number of post-abortion helplines and ministries came to exist, and continue to flourish to this day. In addition, newer programs have established themselves more recently.

For historical purposes, however, it may be of interest to learn that what might be the first post-abortion telephone helpline anywhere was set up in Milwaukee in 1976 by a group of young women, members of the local chapter of Feminists for Life.

These pro-life women, led by Debbie Ummel, Jolie Zimmer and Marbeth Foley, asked themselves how could women who suffered emotionally and psychologically from abortion be helped.  They reached out to a local psychiatrist, Dr. Monte Liebman, who was known for his interest in the abortion issue.

The young women were hoping Dr. Liebman would be the referral they would use for anyone they identified who might be suffering from an abortion decision.

At their first meeting with Dr. Liebman, he congratulated them on their concern and vision, but suggested an alternative approach rather than having him be the direct referral for their efforts. 

He emphasized that many of the women who suffered from post-abortion consequences were not necessarily in need of professional psychiatric counseling. Many of them, he explained, could be helped by a disinterested person trained to respond to the needs of these hurting individuals. In fact, he offered to train these pro-life women to be able to attend to the basic needs for listening, understanding, and accompaniment and, when necessary, for possible referral to other services, and perhaps professional counselling, as these women (and men) continued on their journey to healing and reconciliation.

Jolie Zimmer said Dr. Liebman's suggestion caught them off guard at first. They were doubtful they could learn the skills to offer this help themselves.  However, encouraged by Dr. Liebman, they agreed to meet with him on a regular basis for training.

Though the original idea was to respond exclusively to post-abortion needs, their training opened them up to see other embodiments of loss after pregnancy besides abortion, namely miscarriage and adoption placement. Adding these concerns, they expanded their vision and decided on a name: Pregnancy Aftermath Helpline. 

On November 1, 1976, after months of training by Dr. Liebman, volunteers were ready to begin taking calls.  Pregnancy Aftermath Helpline had now been set up as a non-profit organization and had begun to advertise their services in the "Yellow Pages" and elsewhere. A 24-hour phone line was set up in the home of one of the volunteers to coordinate the "call forwarding" of the phone line to the respective volunteer scheduled for a 4 to 8 hour "shift ". Any calls to the central Pregnancy Aftermath Helpline phone number were automatically transferred to the corresponding volunteer's home phone. 

Thanks to the Yellow Page ads, word-of-mouth, and believe it or not, helpful news coverage by local TV, radio and print media, calls began to come in and were greeted by attentive, trained volunteers ready to listen with a caring, nonjudgmental heart.

What they learned became not just the basis for a thriving help-program for hurting women and men in the Milwaukee area, but as word spread nationally about Pregnancy Aftermath Helpline, it also became a resource and inspiration for others interested in doing the same in other states. Calls for speaking engagements came in locally and from other areas of the country, and even from outside the U.S.. (Volunteer Marbeth Foley reports that Canada early on expressed interest in setting up their own helpline in 1980 - Pregnancy Aftermath Helpne - Toronto -  and invited Marbeth to address a conference of hundreds in Toronto.)

The PAH helpline was in operation for approximately 35 years. Scores of dedicated volunteers responded to thousands of calls during that time.  These young pioneering women who started PAH and all those who nurtured it throughout the years are owed a debt of gratitude. 

Today there are many post-abortion programs and ministries operating locally, nationally and internationally, carrying on this work to the great benefit of many.  May God bless them!

In loving memory of Debbie Ummel and Dr. Monte H. Liebman

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For inquiries, contact Marbeth Foley and Jolie Zimmer at: fireflynovember@yahoo.com

Copies of 2 early PAH brochures - see below: