Knowing When to "Exhale"

Published February 03, 2009 @ 09:23AM PT

I just got introduced to this neat non-profit called "Exhale" which was created by and for women who have abortions. I met one of their organizers yesterday who offered me one of their most recent zines (a very cool throwback to the early days of the Third Wave) that is written in both English and Spanish, and features writing from the likes of Amanda Marcotte, Kate Cosby, Melissa Lafsky and Ananda Wildflower. These zines feature a variety of stories about dealing with abortion - either as a friend or as someone who went through it - and are shared within waiting rooms of Planned Parenthood as a means to help women understand their choices and the experience.

The website shares the story of the founders of Exhale - Aspen Baker, Susan Criscione, Carolina De Robertis, Anna Goldstein and Laura Perez - who gathered together for the first time, on the floor of a Berkeley apartment, in June 2000. These five women came together because they, or someone they knew, had personally experienced the lack of non-judgmental services available for women and their significant others after an abortion. They came to the meeting because they wanted to participate in creating a service that could meet women’s after-abortion needs, provide an alternative to politically motivated counseling agencies and create awareness that abortion, and having feelings afterward, is normal in the reproductive lives of women and girls.

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.

The talkline is staffed by volunteer peer counselors who have successfully completed more than 50 hours of training. Counselors are trained in Exhale’s Empowerment Model, which is a lens for understanding people’s unique experiences with abortion.

For those who need to "exhale" about their abortion experience, you can call the hotline here:

1-866-4 EXHALE
(1-866-439–4253)

Monday – Friday:
5 p.m. – 10 p.m. Pacific
Saturday – Sunday:
12 p.m. – 10 p.m. Pacific

All calls are confidential.

Interested in donating to Exhale? Click here.

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Author

Jen Nedeau is a social media consultant, progressive activist, feminist speaker and writer. She currently lives in New York City, where she works full-time as the Director of Digital Strategy at Air America Media. In August 2008, Nedeau was selected to be the Editor of the WomensRights.Change.Org where she facilitates daily discussion about the feminist movement. Additionally, Nedeau volunteers as the Chief Technology Officer for New Leaders Council, a non-profit that offers exclusive training for young leaders. You can follow her on Twitter @HumanFolly or learn more here: www.jennedeau.com.