Before the 1970s, most abortions were illegal and often deadly, forcing poor women into dangerous clandestine procedures.
Wealthy women could travel abroad, while others faced mutilation, sexual assault, or death from back-alley abortions described by Gillian Frank and Reverend Barbara Gerloc.
question_answer ANECDOTE
CCS Used An Answering Machine To Quietly Refer Women
The Clergy Consultation Service (CCS) set up a phone line with an answering machine listing clergy counselors and locations for women seeking help.
Women called, heard available ministers by borough, then contacted a clergy member who counseled them and arranged out-of-state or out-of-country trips.
insights INSIGHT
Cross State Referrals Reduced Legal Exposure
Referring women to providers across state lines reduced legal risk because some laws criminalized even giving abortion information.
Clergy warned counselees not to say 'abortion' on calls and used phrases like 'problem pregnancy' to avoid surveillance.
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In 1967, a very unlikely group of individuals gathered to help women quietly break the law and obtain an abortion. The first step was to call a phone number. A recording of a woman's voice would tell you what to do next.
Who was behind this number? The Clergy Consultation Service, an underground network of ministers and rabbis who wanted to help women access safe abortions. Today, they call themselves the Religious Consultation for Reproductive Choice.
