Abortion Grief Australia has initiated a new approach to those often forgotten in the abortion debate.
By Robert Hiini
Abortion Grief Australia (AGA) has announced that is making moves to provide post-abortion grief counselling to men for the first time.
Partnering with BaptistCare’s Pathways Counselling, AGA will provide training in the nature and treatment of post-abortion trauma in men with a view to eventually establishing a men’s crisis line, in conjunction with local men’s organisations.
The training is expected to take place in February; something, the organisation hopes to make a regular part of its training services.
AGA’s founder and director, Julie Cook says that there are currently no effective therapy programmes for men experiencing abortion trauma and that, as is the case for post-abortive women, it is extremely difficult for men to get the help they need.
The causes lie in the dearth of recognition and training amongst health professionals, Ms Cook says; a situation AGA has spent the past 25 years, since its inception, trying to rectify.
Despite growing international research linking abortion to increased risk of suicide, depression, post traumatic stress disorder and relationship problems and the existence of 24 published studies linking abortion to substance abuse the prevailing politics of abortion, on both sides of the spectrum, mean that many health professionals who recognise the symptoms do not get the training and support they need to help clients.
Despite the absence of dedicated services for men, one fifth of all calls to AGA’s abortion grief help line come from men.
Ms Cook recounted one incidence when a man rang the help line claiming to be suicidal and holding a gun to his head. He had been party to three abortions but said he was unsure as to why, in desperation, he had rang an abortion grief helpline.
“It was when the next pregnancy he was involved in was brought to
Please turn to Page 5
term that the enormity of those previous abortions hit him,” Ms Cook said.
“Unless there is healing, men will act out while not even consciously connect their acting out to the abortion experience but given the opportunity can remarkably honest and direct and great progress can be made working through their grief.”
Ms Cook believes that the demand for abortion grief counselling services will only become stronger with one in four women in WA having experienced abortion.Last year, AGA was involved in a joint initiative with Pathways Counselling to establish an effective group therapy programme. Three women successfully completed this 32 week programme.
With the support of Bishop Don Sproxton, the organisation was also part of relaunching Rachel’s Vineyard retreats for women who have suffered the loss of a child through abortion or miscarriage with the next retreat to take place in May.
This year, AGA will launch a new website with information for women, men and health professionals with the next group therapy program to begin on 12 February.
For more information ring Abortion Grief Counselling on
9313 1784.