May 21, 2007, marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Clergy Consultation Service on Abortion, a network initially formed by 21 ministers and rabbis to assist women seeking safe, secure, and low-cost abortions and to provide advice on such alternatives as adoption and parenting. The service eventually grew to include about 1,400 clergy across the nation, who referred thousands of women to doctors in the U.S. and abroad, and became the forerunner of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.
These ministers and rabbis risked public censure and criminal prosecution to provide compassionate counseling and spiritual support to women. These clergy became a nucleus of support for legal reform and a symbol of the power of religion to effect positive social change. Some of the UU clergy involved in this ministry were the Reverends Farley Wheelright, Richard Gilbert, John Nichols, (the late) Peter Raible, (the late) Nick Cardell, Ralph Mero, and David Johnson.
In the Pacific Northwest area, Ralph Mero recalls working with a registered nurse in Tacoma, Washington and a nurse who would provide abortions upon referral in Vancouver, British Columbia. Ministers in the Pacific Northwest would help women acquire the funds to pay for the abortion (some of which came out of the minister's discretionary account) and transport the women across the border. Many Unitarian Universalist clergy and lay leaders were involved in the CCAS and have continued to be instrumental in the reproductive justice movement.
