Welcome! We’re glad you’re here. Our pro-voice community is filled with people like you: individuals who have had abortions, and people who care about those with personal abortion experiences. We support each other by listening without judgment, by sharing our experiences of healing and wellbeing after abortion, and by finding creative ways to reach out and send the message that our community welcomes new members with love and respect.
The resources you find today are just the beginning. We’re working behind the scenes over the next few months to create new features that will help our community members engage directly with one another. Our hope is that this community grows and adapts in response to what you, and the rest of our members want, need, and create. With the strength of our connections, and the power of our fresh ideas, the pro-voice community can change the culture so that it is more supportive and respectful of our unique experiences with abortion.
Together, we can grow our pro-voice movement beyond the reach of Exhale’s talkline – and this website – so that listening and giving support becomes common practice.
There are lots of ways to participate in the community. Here are few places to start:
- Join the Exhale community. Sign up to receive email updates about new community features and the latest trends and ideas in pro-voice movement-building.
- Improve your listening skills. Read our counseling best practices and try them in conversations with the people in your life. It doesn’t have to be in response to an abortion story. Just listening to what your loved ones care about is great pro-voice practice.
- Learn about pro-voice issues. Pro-voice is a nonviolent practice that is a new way to look at conflict. Further your practice by reading our media archives and contributing to discussions on our pro-voice blog.
- Spread the pro-voice message. Reach beyond politics and the divisiveness of abortion to get our message to the people who need it most: those with personal abortion experiences. Use Facebook and Twitter or your own blog to welcome new members with love and respect.
- Volunteer for Exhale. Effective, compassionate listeners and skilled communicators are needed for our Exhale Ambassadors Program, and talented leaders of all kinds are regularly recruited for a variety of projects and strategies.
- Donate, and grow the Pro-Voice Movement. Your financial support gives Exhale the freedom to grow and to respond to our community. With your support, we can strengthen our role as a hub for pro-voice innovation and ideas and lead the way to culture change.
We are a pro-voice community of diverse individuals with personal abortion experiences, along with our friends and allies, and we stand with each other as we shape what’s next after a personal experience with abortion. Together, we strengthen our emotional wellbeing, engage friends and family in conversation, and lead new community dialogues with our shared stories. We are creating a social climate in which each person’s unique experience with abortion is supported and respected.
Exhale Community Values
The Exhale online community is built on the foundation of these values:
- Respect. We know that people who have abortions are diverse in age, race, ethnicity, religious and spiritual beliefs, ability, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, and in many other ways. We honor each person’s belief system and the range of backgrounds and experiences. Each person’s unique experience with abortion deserves to be heard and valued.
- Wellbeing. We believe emotional wellbeing is possible for every woman who has an abortion and their loved ones. Isolation and stigma stifle wellbeing; support and connection, found here, promote wellbeing.
- Collaboration. We promote your feedback and participation. Your voice is essential to growing a community that reflects the needs of its members.
- Confidentiality. We uphold each member’s right to share your story in a space where your privacy and confidentiality is respected.
Let’s create the cultural change our pro-voice community wants and needs.