What a wonderful service. I only wish I would've known about this after my abortion. I dealt with it pretty well and moved on from any negative emotions, mainly having to go through it alone, quickly and have never regretted my decision. However, having someone to talk to knowing no judgments would be made or expressed would've been a truly wonderful thing to have.

We need women like Aspen, who are trying to bring peace to an otherwise impassable debate. The act of listening is so powerful. As someone who knows Aspen and her organization Exhale fairly personally, I can tell you that Exhale deserves your donation and I hope you will join me as a donor. (www.4exhale.org)

I agree! This woman and her organization rock.

I've often Googled for post-abortion resources and have invariably found nothing but counseling services run by anti-abortionists, usually Christian groups looking for converts who blame all problems a woman has for the rest of her life on her abortion. The Planned Parenthoods I've been to usually offer general feminist mental health referrals (which is awesome), but nothing like a service specifically for post-abortion issues.

And I think it's cool that this organization recognizes ALL reactions to abortion - I looked at the supportive e-cards, and there were ones for people who felt spiritual/religious anguish as well as women who felt relief. They don't turn away religious people, but the pro-lifers turn away anyone who isn't religious.

I agree. Each woman should be able to determine for herself whether the thing she's carrying is a human being. Just because one woman might conclude that a fetus at 5 months is a human life doesn't mean that another woman with a fetus at, say, 8.5 months is wrong when she says her fetus is NOT a human life. They can BOTH be logically correct, because each woman gets to decide what the thing is. What counts is not what the thing itself actually IS, but what the woman herself wants to call it, taking into account her own subjective feelings and circumstances.

long time lurker, first time commenter!

exhale is a great service for women. i'd like to throw a plug for another service that's been around for about 4 1/2 years - backline http://www.yourbackline.org. i've been a talk line advocate for 4 years this month, and i really enjoy dialoguing with women, men, and their loved ones about pregnancy options, as well as post-abortion, post-adoption placement, and post-natal issues. we often get a lot of referrals from exhale, so it's nice to see them (and aspen) honored.