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NEW SUPPORT GROUP HELPS
THOSE AFFECTED BY ABORTION
P.A.T.H.S. has started
a Support Group for those who have been touched by a recent or past abortion, in
response to what we see as a growing need for specialised support for those with
depression, anxiety, grief and other issues relating to an abortion experience
The aim of the Support Group
is to provide a safe, confidential, warm and caring place for those impacted by
abortion to come and be together and share experiences. It is a place of acceptance
and free of judgement, where participants have an opportunity to tell their abortion
story, express the reality of what that was like and what it has meant for them
and their lives.
Few realise how hugely difficult it feels for many to reveal an abortion as being
part of their life, let alone disclose what the real effects of it may be like or
the struggles or confusion they might be experiencing afterwards.
There is a real challenge for many women, and men, after an abortion experience
to feel comfortable in talking about it with either close family or friends. Also,
generally, in society there is a taboo around talking about it - abortion is not
part of everyday social conversation and is not a topic that many feel comfortable
talking around. It is still such a contentious and sensitive issue, shrouded in
politics and religious views and extremes of positions, that the bereaved post abortive
parent is effectively silenced.
Abortion is one of those incredibly isolating experiences and few really understand
or appreciate the subtle and more dramatic implications or consequences for numbers
of women, and men, for whom it wasn’t necessarily the simple solution it was meant
to be. The lived experiences and impacts for numbers of post abortive people aren’t
surprising considering the life-death nature of the event. For many the loss and
trauma of terminating a pregnancy is unanticipated and understandably can be painful
and problematic.
It is sad that those who experience problems have such a difficult time being acknowledged
and having their experiences validated and accepted as real or even possibly recognised
as relating to their recent or past abortion. There is no doubt in our minds and
from our experience, that their pain is real and deep, the conflicts heartwrenching,
the sequelae far reaching. Many who have submitted to an unwanted abortion, admit
that they are never the same afterwards as they were before - forever changed in
some way or other. There is no denying that the women, and men who approach our
service, do so, because they have come to grief in some way. We do not need the
research to confirm the need for specialised help for the person suffering abortion
loss or trauma - it is evident enough in the stories told and the raw grief expressed
in our counselling rooms from those with first hand experience who share about the
losses incurred and changes wrought in them and their lives.
Those affected by abortion often worry that they are counterculture and that there
is something wrong with them for experiencing it the way they have, but once they
unpack it all, it becomes plain that how they feel and the issues they face are
real and not unusual for the experience that is abortion.
Most people who come for help are very relieved to not have to pretend that things
are okay, or hide their pain and grief any longer. Most are grateful to be able
to explore what contributed to them making the decision to terminate the pregnancy
- how it played out and why things happened that way. Awareness and understanding
helps open the way for taking necessary steps towards healing. Facilitation through
a process, identifying key issues to explore and work through, all assist the post
abortive parent to make sense of the experience, reframe it and journey towards
greater peace and wholeness.
It is hoped that the Support Group will help to break the silence around abortion,
and enable more women, and men, who want support to access help.
Support the Support Group by spreading the word and encouraging anyone you know
who may have had an abortion and may be not coping or hurting to come along.
Event notice
Continuing Bonds
Continuing bonds enables
the relationship to be maintained, not as before, but in a new and different dimension.....
Where there is deep mourning, anguished grief, there is also found deep unswerving
love and this is the dimension which does not die.
Anne Lastman in her June/July
2008 newsletter Broken Branches speaks of the continuing bonds surrounding relationships
around the death of abortion. This is something that we counsellors also deal with
in our work with clients here after abortion, for it is something associated with
any bereavement loss, including abortion loss.
The nature of continuing bonds arises from the reality that there exist bonds which
continue beyond death and do not necessarily cause disequilibrium. Continuing bonds
enables the relationship to be maintained, not as before, but in a new and different
dimension. There is the belief and sense that physical absence does not necessarily
diminish attachment. Where there is deep mourning, anguished grief, there is also
found deep unswerving love and this is the dimension which does not die. Love changes
its dimension but continues.
Love is that universal life giving emotion that ensures that no one is ever forgotten.
It is love, which is responsible for the grief of abortion. It is love that ensures
that the bonds remain unbroken. To forget and move on has a dimension of “use” inscribed
within it, whilst to remember has a dimension of “love” and “forever” inscribed
within it. To remember, means that all the aborted child was, is and could have
been, has been memorialised for the well-being and happiness of those left behind,
who live with the regret.
The bonds of attachment that is love goes beyond the servile attachment for security.
Ongoing bonds with a deceased loved one can be viewed as a natural flow of the attachment
theory but the added dimension of love is one worthy of contemplation. Sadly for
many who experience abortion death, continuing bonds are complicated sometimes by
issues of guilt. But abortion grief is a deep and real loss, and irrespective of
“fault” it needs to be understood that whether expressed or not, the loss exists
simply because the one who died, continues to reshape the lives of those left behind.
When journeying through the grief after abortion the bereaved post-abortive parent
needs to renegotiate the relationship with the little baby who died in the abortion.
There is a process of saying “hello” and then ‘goodbye” to the life that was, and
adjusting to the new state of things, and then saying “hello” again through the
love that enables those attachment bonds to continue. It is necessary to remember
the short, but nonetheless meaningful life of her (or his) precious baby, let go
and continue living with the memory woven into the fabric of her (or his) life.
If healing is sought, there is no escaping this process, once a person has begun
to confront the reality of her (or his) abortion loss. Accepting continuing bonds
can on the one hand be a huge benefit for many, but for others, believing they deserve
to have them, can be difficult. With abortion grief, achieving peace may be fraught,
as there often remain residual elements, for example around guilt, which some struggle
with. But a good measure of acceptance and peace can be reached which enables the
post abortive parent to move forward, begin to embrace life more fully once more
with confidence in the future whilst retaining that very important and precious
link with the little one who died.
NZ RESEARCH UNCOVERS
ABORTION AND MENTAL HEALTH LINK
Copy of article released
by New Zealand Press Association (Wellington, 1 December 2008)
Women who have an abortion are more likely to suffer
subsequent poor mental health, according to a new survey
The University of Otago
study found women who had an abortion faced a 30 percent increase in the risk of
developing common mental health problems such as depression and anxiety. Professor
David Fergusson, John Horwood and Joseph Boden studied the pregnancy and mental
health history of over 500 women, who took part in the long-running study from birth
to the age of 30.
The women were interviewed six times between the ages of 15 and 30, each time being
asked whether they had been pregnant and, if so, what the outcome of that pregnancy
had been. They were also given a mental health assessment during each interview,
to see if they met the diagnostic criteria for major depression, anxiety disorders,
alcohol dependence and illicit drug dependence. Overall, 284 women reported a total
of 686 pregnancies before the age of 30. These pregnancies included: 153 abortions
(occurring to 117 women), 138 pregnancy losses, 66 live births that resulted from
an unwanted pregnancy, and 329 live births resulting from a wanted pregnancy.
The study found the overall population effects of abortion on mental health were
small, with researchers estimating that exposure to abortion accounted for between
1.5 and 5.5 percent of the overall rate of mental disorders in the general population.
However, the findings have implications for the legal status of abortion in New
Zealand where over 90 percent of terminations were authorized on the grounds that
proceeding with the pregnancy will pose a serious threat to the woman’s mental health.
The study supports international research on the subject which also revealed a link
between abortion and mental health.
Women's Grief After Abortion
Women who share their
stories with us have all suffered abortion-related grief: a depth of grief they
were not prepared for but which they carry still.
Emotional trauma after abortion
is treated with disdain and dismissed by many health professionals, and society
at large, as an invention. Women’s suffering after an abortion is considered a figment
of their imagination; their guilt and remorse a by-product of social or religious
conditioning... They are an embarrassment. The topic is given scant, indifferent
or often scathing consideration. Women experiencing grief after abortion don’t exist!
They go unheard.
Conventional wisdom says abortion is mostly trouble-free. Because of this those
who are troubled are made to feel invisible. Their stories have been disqualified,
even by those who say we must listen to women’s voices and credit women’s experiences.
Furthermore the politics surrounding abortion have drowned out the voices of women
harmed by it.
Women whose lives are shattered by the abortion experience and for whom abortion
was not a “maturational milestone” “an act of self-determination” “a positive moral
good” “a source of fulfilment, transcendence and growth” are cast aside as oversensitive,
psychologically unstable, victims of socially constructed guilt. Their experience
is trivialised.
To hold a view that termination is really no big deal, an easy fix and without repurcussions
for women effectively constrains the suffering, discounts and minimises the pain
of those who actually struggle afterwards.
Suffering post-aborted women feel resentment towards a society which ignores or
neglects their suffering. They are not allowed to acknowledge or mourn their loss
openly. The disdain for women suffering after-abortion trauma sends the message:
you are only upset because you have chosen to be upset. Mocking responses in the
vein of “Abortoin can be an emotional subject - particularly for people who choose
to get upset about it” makes them feel they are being melodramatic, attention-seeking
and forces them to deny their experience of loss, or feeling haunted or tortured
by their abortions.
It is not helpful when women are told “there is nothing there” or that they are
terminating a “bunch of cells” because deep in their hearts many recognise that
they were pregnant with a little human being. Their arms feel empty, they don’t
like looking at babies, they cry often. They ask “What would my baby have looked
like?” “Was it a boy or girl?” Would-have-been birthdays are quietly marked year
after year.
Margaret Nicol points out in her work on maternal grief - it is a myth that a mother
only bonds with her child after birth. A woman never forgets a pregnancy and the
baby that might have been. When the baby is lost and there are no memories or visible
reminders of the baby “the feeling of emptiness and nothingness becomes pervasive
and it is this uneasy anxious void that makes women wonder if they’re going crazy”.
This is true for women who experience miscarriage - it can be equally true for those
who have experienced an abortion.
Previously women who miscarried were treated callously after losing their babies
- some were told it wasn’t a real baby they had lost, some were told not to cry
as this was all part of being a woman, and those who did were made to feel silly,
that they just had to toughen up and get on. These dismissive and negative attitudes
are slowly changing for those who experience miscarriages but now they are being
applied to those who have had abortions. It’s not okay to talk about abortion grief....
It’s not okay to cry.... Women are forced into denial or to think about it privately.
But the truth remains: where there was a baby, now there is no baby.
Society and medics use the term foetus in an attempt to dehumanise the experience,
lessen the maternal attachment response and for some women this is effective in
aiding their coping afterwards, but for many it feels like an insult on top of the
assault they’ve felt already in submitting to an abortion. It does nothing to decrease
the anguish of their mother’s heart.
It is not helpful to pit women not hurt by abortion against those who are. There
is no one authentic experiential reality when it comes to abortion. Each woman’s
story and experience is unique to her.
In counselling women after abortion we need to become very mindful of and sensitive
to this fact if we are to be responsive and effective in helping her on her journey
of healing.
Inspired and adapted from writings of Melinda Tankard-Reist, author of “Giving Sorrow
Words”.
Denial - Louise's
Story
As I grew up and up until
the time that I had my termination I never believed that I would find myself to
be pregnant, let alone to be in the situation that the pregnancy would be unplanned
and end in a termination.
I never wanted to disappoint my parents, even at the age of 25, and I thought that
knowing what had happened, they would in fact be disappointed in me... I was always
encouraged to work hard, and had been taught that if I wanted anything in life I
had to put in the effort to achieve my goal. This made me determined to finish what
I start and has meant that I am very reluctant to ask for help.
In March 2000, I left for the U.K with the plan to get to know my extended family.
Armed with my degree I intended to find work in my field in the U.K. But out of
desperation and a serious lack of funds I took a job in a service department of
a large car dealer. It was fine for a while but I became very homesick, I missed
my family and my close friends. I was still holding out hope on finding a job that
I was qualified to do and making good progress on paying off my student loan. I
was too determined to give up and come home because of my emotions. I met Dan at
work; we became friends... After a little while the friendship developed into a
relationship. I finally had a close friend.
After about three months together I realized that I was pregnant. I consider myself
to be a relatively intelligent woman, yet I still told myself that if I didn’t believe
that I was pregnant, then I couldn’t be. It was about this time that Dan started
to back away from me, he was vague about his plans, lied about where he was going
and would snap at me. I was confused and very hurt, he was my only friend. I was
pregnant and afraid.
I knew that he didn’t want to have children. I believed that the timing wasn’t right
for me either and I was so far away from everyone and everything that mattered to
me. I was 11 weeks pregnant when I told Dan. I had already made my decision before
I spoke to him. He told me that he would support me whatever my choice was, but
I wonder how that would have been had I have decided to continue with the pregnancy.
It was a whirlwind and bewildering time. I spoke to Dan on Wednesday, I saw the
GP on Thursday, went to a Family Planning type clinic on Friday and was booked into
a clinic a two hour drive away, for the abortion to be carried out on Monday. I
was very frightened; I had never been in hospital before. I had no idea what to
expect, no-one had given me any details or much reassurance. I felt ashamed that
it had happened to me. I wished that I could have spoken to my mother but the person
that I needed the most was the person I just could not tell. Dan drove me to Birmingham
the night before and left me in a hotel room. I have never felt so alone. I lay
awake in the bed waiting for morning to come.
The day will be etched in my memory forever. The big old house with three storeys,
the waiting in many different rooms, the fact that everyone else had someone with
them whilst I sat alone, and the feeling of complete helplessness. One woman who
was also waiting said to me ‘You look like you’ve got the weight of the world on
your shoulders’. I replied ‘At this point in time I feel like I do’. I will never
forget her response and every time I think about it, it shocks me just as much.
She replied ‘You’ve got no need to worry, there’s nothing to it, this is the fifth
time I’ve been here, my kids think I’m at a job interview’. I don’t understand how
anyone could treat it like it was a trip to the dentist.
We were all taken away in groups to have scans and tests. My scan revealed that
I was in fact pregnant with twins. The nurse asked if that changed anything for
me. But I had come this far I had to see it through. The other girls were looking
in their notes’ folder and looking at their scan pictures. I never opened my folder
or looked at the photos, seeing their forms would have meant accepting their reality.
I awoke from the procedure moaning with intense pain. I felt sick yet relieved -
I could put it behind me and move on. I’d taken a couple of weeks off work to recover.
I was anaemic so was exhausted but trying to put on a brave face. I can remember
very little of those two weeks, I have blocked them from my memory, but I can still
feel the loneliness.
Dan stayed with me for a month or so afterwards, more out of a sense of duty I believe.
I returned to work and immersed myself in it. I began to not look after myself,
eating very little and going to the gym excessively. Dan became more and more cold
towards me – my only “friend” was shutting me out when I still needed him so much.
I pretended to myself that the termination had never happened and almost believed
that it was someone else’s life.
I decided six months after the abortion to return to New Zealand. I was unhappy
and I was still alone. After I told Dan that I was leaving he changed and wanted
to spend time with me. The day I left he broke my heart again, he told me that he
loved me, the words that I had wanted to hear so badly, being spoken then, far too
late.I expected being home that I’d be able to leave the memories of and feelings
around the event behind me. I coped on the outside very well, but on the inside
whenever the words ‘abortion’ or ‘pregnant’ were mentioned I would cringe and avoid
having to make any comment. I tried to avoid situations where I might feel put on
the spot as I feared someone might know my secret.
A while after returning home I started to see Andy whom I had known before I left
for the U.K. He had described me then as someone who could light up a room. When
I returned home he saw me as a shell of that person, someone who had retracted into
herself. I had thought that I was doing a brilliant job of hiding what was going
on inside of me. I told him the truth however. We eventually had a child together,
a fantastic little boy. Both Andy and my mum were at the birth and after some complications
a nurse asked me if I had ever had a general anaesthetic and why. I had always wanted
to tell mum but not like that - it was horrible. A few days later we talked and
cried, she told me that she wished that I could have told her and that she never
would have been disappointed in me. In my heart I knew that would have been her
reaction but I never gave her the chance and that’s something that I will always
regret.
It was at this point which made me realise that five years later I did need help.
Despite the fact that I now had a child, anything to do with babies made me cry
- this was no way to live. Making the first step to speak to someone was not an
easy one as it meant to me that I was no longer in control of myself. Despite this
I knew what needed to be done. My GP gave me the contact details for The Family
Life Pregnancy Centre where I met a counsellor from P.A.T.H.S.
The counsellor taught me that it’s ok to feel the way that I did. She helped me
put everything into perspective and to create a sense of ownership in my story.
I see how it has in some way made me the person that I am today. She helped me to
grieve which was something that I had never done, and most importantly she encouraged
me to acknowledge my babies, to allow thoughts of them through and to think of them
as part of me and not something to hide away from.
I would like to say a big thankyou on behalf of all women in my situation. I appreciate
what my counsellor did for me and helped me to do for myself. It can not be an easy
job taking people back to such painful times in their lives, but with your support
you helped me to make the passage through the pain and darkness out into the light.
Thank you. Louise
Mothers Day - Celebration
or Trial
It’s rarely acknowledged
that women who have had abortions are mothers too!
Each year in May we celebrate
Mothers Day in New Zealand. It is a special time to remember and honour mothers,
grandmothers and those who have been like mothers to us in our lives. As with many
of these annual celebrations they are for some less a celebration than a trial,
and are approached with mixed feelings. Strained relationships with mothers or separation
- geographical, through death, rejection or abandonment colour Mothers Day for mothers,
their offspring and grandmothers alike.
Every language and culture has a word for mother - the female parent especially
human. But when is a mother a mother?
Women who have living children are undoubtedly counted in. Women who have experienced
a pregnancy, baby, infant or child loss can look on Mothers Day as a day of remembering
or a day of sadness. It is very personal. Losing an unborn baby through miscarriage,
stillbirth or induced labour for foetal abnormality, or losing a baby soon after
birth, or an infant or child does not make a mother an “unmother”. There is no disputing
that for these mothers it is okay to acknowledge their loved little ones or children
who have died. The death of their little ones does not change their status as mother
and their right to be forever that little one’s mother and to remember their beloved
offspring who have died.
For some of these bereaved mothers although their status as mother is not in dispute
how they might remember or be allowed to express their feelings around times like
Mothers Day for little ones who died is another matter, and very much depends on
themselves and where they are at in their own grieving process and the acceptance
and support, or lack of, from those around them.
The plight of post abortive women is often a different story again. Whether they
themselves or others can or will freely acknowledge their status of ‘mother’ and
accord them their right to remember and be remembered on this occasion is variable
depending on circumstances and those around them. Abortion loss is a disenfranchised
loss - neither socially recognised nor supported. So it begs the question, who supports
motherhood in the post-abortive women? Do the women who have had abortions, their
partners or spouses, their families or does society? If so how? If not, why not?
Post-abortive women themselves may often deny maternity as part of the head-heart
disconnection that can occur through the decision-making process when they were
faced with the unplanned or unwanted pregnancy. This can become problematic later.
That deep rejection of the maternal relationship and avoidance of a felt connection
and attachment to the life growing inside that enables her to decide for abortion
effectively ensures denial after the event of that unique bond of the mother with
her offspring.
For many post-abortive women then Mothers Day can be a nonevent when it comes to
remembering their little ones who died in the abortion. However we know that Mothers
Day for some becomes a trigger for negative emotional reactions, often unconscious,
from their past abortions. We hear about this in the stories post-abortive women
share.
It can become confusing for the post-abortive woman, for in having allowed herself
to undergo an abortion she may have denied her maternal relationship to or attachment
to the life growing inside at that time, so now how can she hope to acknowledge
that life and relationship? And who around her will be interested in supporting
such an acknowledgement now, particularly if friends and family were supportive
of the decision in the first place? How can she think or feel she has the right
to grieve or remember - her little one, and her seeming lost motherhood? And compared
to those for whom the loss of a loved little one is legitimate what possibility
is there for a post-abortive mother to openly acknowledge or express her love, reality
or desire?
With the utmost respect and sensitivity to mothers who have lost their unborn little
ones, or babies or children for other reasons, and not wishing to detract from the
depth of feelings and sense of tragedy that accompanies such losses for them, there
is, I think, a need to address the need for post-abortive mothers to be validated
on Mothers Day - to acknowledge both their status as mother and for them to be given
the chance to remember their little ones who have died. If we do not do this, do
we not effectively forbid them healing and closure and a chance to celebrate their
ongoing relationship with their offspring?
Some may not agree - either that in assisting post-abortive women to acknowledge
motherhood is helpful or that they have a right to remember or celebrate on Mothers
Day. However, we who work with women after abortion recognise clearly the need for
and work in reestablishing her true relationship with the little one lost in abortion
as part of the healing process. And in our experience encouraging that ongoing relationship
as ‘mother’ is as important with post-abortive mothers as with others who have experienced
pregnancy, baby, infant or child loss.
Carolina Gnad
ANNUAL REPORT HIGHLIGHTS
2007-2008
P.A.T.H.S. celebrated its
first 10 years in December 2007. This was a big milestone and a wonderful time of
acknowledging our successes and achievements. The journey over the last decade has
been one of discovery, building and holding to our mission in order to realize the
vision. P.A.T.H.S. has good and solid foundations. It has grown slowly and continues
to grow slowly but surely. There is still much to be done and much more that could
be done.
Key developments over the past year
-
The chance to provide a training morning to student counsellors at Vision College
in Christchurch and do a presentation at the New Zealand Association Counsellors
Conference in Dunedin were breakthroughs.
-
The Trust recognized the need to raise the profile of P.A.T.H.S. in the community.
This is an ongoing issue and needs addressing. A Marketing Team was set up and the
new pamphlet about P.A.T.H.S. services has been produced, and others are in the
pipeline.
-
We submitted our application to the Charities Commission for registration as a Charitable
Entity. It was approved.
-
We set up a new email Prayer Network support system which is working well.
TELEPHONE
We still rely on an answerphone system. This works reasonably well, except that
we are aware for vulnerable clients it can be a huge step to reach out for help
in the first place and then to leave a message may be hard. The answerphone message
does provide a private contact mobile number if people need someone to talk to urgently
so we feel the system is adequate, though not ideal, meantime.
Most calls related
to seeking information about P.A.T.H.S. or for projects. Others were wanting counselling
and some were asking after training opportunities.
COUNSELLING
We had five counsellors seeing clients through the year. Counsellors continue provide
up to 10 sessions per client as volunteers with clients offering a donation to P.A.T.H.S.,
and if a client wishes to have ongoing counselling or therapy (s)he has the option
of continuing with the counsellor for as long as required for an agreed fee. Counsellors
have continued to meet regularly 6-8 weekly throughout the year for peer sharing
and supervision. The have helped with Remembrance Services and have assisted with
input into training and presentations.
We have welcomed a student counsellor on
part-placement this year and hope her time with us will provide some good learning
and experience for her. For us too it means having an additional counsellor available
to support those seeking healing. Another counsellor has rejoined our team and that
will ensure we can respond well to the needs of those accessing our service should
we get busier. Our male counsellor sadly is no longer available to counsel male
clients. We had none in Christchurch this year, but it is good to have someone there
should men come forward for support. We will endeavour to recruit someone from one
of our training events.
There have been more clients accessing the service this
year and counselling hours are up on the previous year.
-
19 clients accessed the service in ChCh (up from 10)
-
The total number of counselling hours provided was approximately 87.5 hours (up
from 44)
-
Referrals came via our website, other groups, brochures at Lyndhurst and Christchurch
Women’s Hospital, GPs and other counsellors in the community
-
“When” people came for help ranged from weeks after an abortion up to 40 years or
more after an abortion
-
A few were mothers seeking information and help for their young daughters
-
Out of those 20 seeking counselling, four had experienced two abortions, and a few
had additional miscarriages
-
Two clients were re-engaging after a few years
EMAILS
Email support remains a vital part of our service. In the year ending March 2008
we had a total of 39 people email in for help, and responded with 81 emails. A few
of these either linked in with a P.A.T.H.S. counsellor or if out of Christchurch
they were referred to other help groups or people in their area. Though time consuming
and limited email support is beneficial and continues to be worthwhile to offer.
Most emails however were those wanting information about P.A.T.H.S. and resources.
There were two requests for training workshops and seminars for 2008, an invitation
to put contact details in the Teen Parent Directory, MHERC (Mental Health Resources
Centre) Directory, and a invitation to participate in an interview by a Social Worker
Masters student as part of her thesis research on Abortion in Christchurch.
PRESENTATIONS AND SEMINARS
There were three radio programmes with Plains FM. We talked about P.A.T.H.S. at
the CDHB Study Day for Midwives, Voice for Life AGM, DC Communications Board; a
training morning for student counsellors at Vision College, and a workshop at the
NZAC Conference. We held a post-abortion weekend in Christchurch in September. These
are opportunities to raise awareness of and discuss post-abortion issues. We are
particularly heartened to be starting to make connections with people and inroads
into mainstream health areas.
NETWORKING
Every event provides networking opportunities. I have had more meetings with counselling
students to talk about the work of P.A.T.H.S. or provide information to assist with
research and assignments from high school and tertiary students; sharing of information
and experiences whilst attending a number of Volunteer Co-ordinator’s meetings at
Volunteering Canterbury and whilst participating in UNITEC courses for Not-for-Profit
Management; we maintain good relationships with Pregnancy Counselling Services branches
around New Zealand and Family Life International and their new centre in Christchurch;
speaking with counsellors at the NZAC Conference and midwives at the TABS Study
Day in Christchurch; membership of ARIN (the Abortion Recovery International Network);
talking with some GPs and community groups enquiring about our service.
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P.A.T.H.S.
Newsletter Excerpts - 2008
