Happy holidays to all of us from Abortion Support Network. Are you ready for the New Year? We are! Thanks very much for all the holiday donations. Need a 2013 calendar, pro choice style? ASN in the news. Women we heard from in December. What’s your resolution?
- Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
- Pro Choice calendar
- ASN in the news
- Women we’ve helped
- What’s ahead for 2013?
- Save the date!
Thank you!
You know you’re working with an abortion fund when an Irish woman rings several times just before midnight on New Year’s Eve and again first thing New Year’s Day to tell you that she’s had a miscarriage – so that you can give the grant you awarded her to another woman in need. That’s what we do here, those of you reading this, and we couldn’t do it without your help.
Counting down the time
While we all wait for the governments of Ireland and Northern Ireland to make abortion safe and legal in these two countries, we can count down the days with this fabulous pro choice calendar from the Irish Choice Network. Download for free or get one posted to you for €10.00.
ASN in the news
Huffington Post, 18 December 2012. “Ireland To Legalise Abortion In Cases Where Mother’s Life Put At Risk” ASN’s Mara Clarke on the fact that this proposed law change won’t make a difference for the majority of women who contact ASN.
Irish Times, 29 December 2012. “Reasons for women not to be cheerful Year-end wrap up plugs ASN as a charity helping Irish women needing abortions.
But most importantly, The Telegraph (yes, the Telegraph!) published this story on how the proposed abortion laws in Ireland will be “virtually meaningless”.
Women we’ve heard from
In December, ASN heard from 27 women, including:
A single mother who planned to travelled by ferry as it was cheaper but was terrified as she’d never left the country before. She was able to borrow some of the money from friends and family and ASN was able to help her make up the shortfall.
A client who rang, frantic, as she’d been misinformed that an abortion at 12 weeks would cost £1,000. ASN was able to give accurate information on clinics and prices.
A young man who had heard someone from ASN speak at a rally in Ireland, and emailed us because his partner has become pregnant and they were seeking information about clinics and prices.
A single mother of four who had spent money on medical abortion medication that didn’t work. Despite being out of work she was then able to raise the money she neeed to travel to England for an abortion. Unfortunately, she was further along in pregnancy than she had thought and, while the clinic offered to pay her accommodation for three days until they could give her another appointment, she had no one to care for her children and needed to return home. ASN was able to help her return to England to have the abortion.
A young student who had been experiencing difficulties getting the visa she needed to travel to England for an abortion. Before contacting ASN she had been so desperate that she tried a number of dangerous means to self-induce a miscarriage. After overcoming the visa problems, with a grant from ASN she was able to travel and access an abortion.
A single mother in her early 30s who took out a loan at extortionate rates but even then was only able to afford some of the costs of travel, the procedure and child care while she was away. ASN was able to make a grant to cover the shortfall.
A woman who had previously suffered a still birth due to serious foetal anomalies. Despite using hormonal contraception to make sure she never had to go through that again she fell pregnant and turned to ASN for help.
A young student who put all her Christmas money towards the cost of flights and procedure. ASN was able to make up the difference.
We thank these women and men for allowing us to share their stories.
What’s ahead for 2013?
Have you made any resolutions this year? Here at ASN, we plan to keep raising money, and keep helping women. We hope to tell you all about it at our AGM in March (date TBD)! What about you? If your resolutions include giving more money to charity, please consider ASN! Or if you resolved to give more time, why not give the ASN Fundraising Toolkit a whirl. Or stay tuned to this eBulletin for upcoming volunteer opportunities.
Save the date!
Last month we asked everyone to mark Thursday 14 March for our AGM. Due to a clash with the ifpa sexual health awards, we have moved it to Thursday 7 March. Details to follow – hope to see you there! |
