FROM THE CALIFORNIA CATHOLIC CONFERENCE, NOVEMBER 2011
Los Angeles-based Sister of Social Service Paula Vandegaer remembers she was shocked when abortion laws were liberalized in California back in November of 1967, allowing abortion in rare cases of rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother. Within three years, thousands of “rare” abortions were being obtained in the state with the help of entrepreneurs offering services such as free pregnancy tests, paperwork processing and abortion doctor referrals.
Working at Holy Family Services Adoption and Counseling in 1971, Sister Vandegaer, a licensed clinical social worker, met with a young pregnant woman who had been told by a Medi-Cal caseworker that she didn’t have to follow old religious traditions and should consider the new abortion option instead of placing her unborn baby up for adoption.
“I was absolutely furious,” said Sister Vandegaer. “I realized that something had to be done to protect these women.” She soon got in touch with a group in Whittier forming a pro-life hotline and agreed to train the phone counselors.
Within a year, four other local pregnancy service centers sponsored by the Right to Life League opened with volunteers trained by Sister Vandegaer. In 1972, the Sister of Social Service became part of the first national counseling group in the United States: “Alternatives to Abortion,” acting as its secretary.
“After the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion in 1973, the pregnancy service centers just started [opening] like crazy – better then two a week in the early years,” according to Sister Vandegaer. “People were just pouring out of the woodwork to do something about what the Supreme Court had done.”
Through the years, many of the new pregnancy service centers that sprang up based their volunteers’ training on the manual developed by Sister Vandegaer. Although several of the centers were founded by Catholic groups, others were ecumenical groups which adapted the manual for their needs.
“I can still see bits and pieces of what I wrote in other training manuals. It was all based on sound, scientific counseling principles: acceptance, non-judgmental attitude, individuation, listening and confidentiality,” explained Sister Vandegaer.
She notes that nationwide, there are now 2,756 pregnancy service centers in the United States – more than abortion facilities. In addition, there are 600 centers related to the pro-life movement, including adoption centers, maternity homes and post-abortion counseling centers.
“The service movement is very, very large,” said Sister Vandegaer. “There are probably 40-50,000 people who are trained plus they have a lot of supporters who are donating and helping. It’s much more difficult to attack because we are liked. Even pro-abortion people like us,” for the support services offered to women.
In 1985, Sister Vandegaer founded International Life Services (ILS) in Los Angeles, a non-profit, non-sectarian, educational organization dedicated to promoting Judeo-Christian values and the sanctity of human life. ILS had three divisions: an Education Division, a Counseling Division and a Bioethics Division (Scholl Institute of Bioethics).
Its goal was to educate the public on a range of life issues affecting society, including end-of-life issues such as physician assisted suicide and euthanasia. “Heartbeat Magazine,” which ILS published for many years, always included a bio-ethics topic among its articles.
Last year, a statistical study of clients contacting California ILS centers during the previous four years showed an annual increase in the combined total of women – and men – contacting the state’s pregnancy service centers. A preliminary tally for 2009, based on incomplete reports, shows that ILS centers in the state served 11,096 people, compared to 6,481 in 2005.
Many of the other 28 ILS centers in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin have also seen significant increases in their clientele, serving a combined total of 15,407 people last year.
With more than 2,700 pregnancy service centers of various kinds nationwide averaging 500 client visits a year, according to Sister Vandegaer, more than one million people are contacting the centers for services. “That’s a lot of people who are going through the service centers. There’s been a lot of goodwill out there,” said Sister.
She is optimistic about the fact that recent nationwide opinion polls showed that more Americans consider themselves pro-life, including many youth. “I really see the young people being very, very pro-life. It’s apparent in the increase in statistics and apparent in the young people coming into the movement,” said the nun.
Pregnancy service center clients in the 18-25 age category, the largest group experiencing crisis pregnancies, are more open to listening to the pro-life message than the previous generations since abortion was legalized, noted the ILS founder. “They’re not churched generally, but there’s a spiritual sensitivity and they’re coming in larger numbers to the centers,” said Sister Vandegaer.
Los Angeles-based Sister of Social Service Paula Vandegaer remembers she was shocked when abortion laws were liberalized in California back in November of 1967, allowing abortion in rare cases of rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother. Within three years, thousands of “rare” abortions were being obtained in the state with the help of entrepreneurs offering services such as free pregnancy tests, paperwork processing and abortion doctor referrals.
Working at Holy Family Services Adoption and Counseling in 1971, Sister Vandegaer, a licensed clinical social worker, met with a young pregnant woman who had been told by a Medi-Cal caseworker that she didn’t have to follow old religious traditions and should consider the new abortion option instead of placing her unborn baby up for adoption.
“I was absolutely furious,” said Sister Vandegaer. “I realized that something had to be done to protect these women.” She soon got in touch with a group in Whittier forming a pro-life hotline and agreed to train the phone counselors.
Within a year, four other local pregnancy service centers sponsored by the Right to Life League opened with volunteers trained by Sister Vandegaer. In 1972, the Sister of Social Service became part of the first national counseling group in the United States: “Alternatives to Abortion,” acting as its secretary.
“After the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion in 1973, the pregnancy service centers just started [opening] like crazy – better then two a week in the early years,” according to Sister Vandegaer. “People were just pouring out of the woodwork to do something about what the Supreme Court had done.”
Through the years, many of the new pregnancy service centers that sprang up based their volunteers’ training on the manual developed by Sister Vandegaer. Although several of the centers were founded by Catholic groups, others were ecumenical groups which adapted the manual for their needs.
“I can still see bits and pieces of what I wrote in other training manuals. It was all based on sound, scientific counseling principles: acceptance, non-judgmental attitude, individuation, listening and confidentiality,” explained Sister Vandegaer.
She notes that nationwide, there are now 2,756 pregnancy service centers in the United States – more than abortion facilities. In addition, there are 600 centers related to the pro-life movement, including adoption centers, maternity homes and post-abortion counseling centers.
“The service movement is very, very large,” said Sister Vandegaer. “There are probably 40-50,000 people who are trained plus they have a lot of supporters who are donating and helping. It’s much more difficult to attack because we are liked. Even pro-abortion people like us,” for the support services offered to women.
In 1985, Sister Vandegaer founded International Life Services (ILS) in Los Angeles, a non-profit, non-sectarian, educational organization dedicated to promoting Judeo-Christian values and the sanctity of human life. ILS had three divisions: an Education Division, a Counseling Division and a Bioethics Division (Scholl Institute of Bioethics).
Its goal was to educate the public on a range of life issues affecting society, including end-of-life issues such as physician assisted suicide and euthanasia. “Heartbeat Magazine,” which ILS published for many years, always included a bio-ethics topic among its articles.
Last year, a statistical study of clients contacting California ILS centers during the previous four years showed an annual increase in the combined total of women – and men – contacting the state’s pregnancy service centers. A preliminary tally for 2009, based on incomplete reports, shows that ILS centers in the state served 11,096 people, compared to 6,481 in 2005.
Many of the other 28 ILS centers in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin have also seen significant increases in their clientele, serving a combined total of 15,407 people last year.
With more than 2,700 pregnancy service centers of various kinds nationwide averaging 500 client visits a year, according to Sister Vandegaer, more than one million people are contacting the centers for services. “That’s a lot of people who are going through the service centers. There’s been a lot of goodwill out there,” said Sister.
She is optimistic about the fact that recent nationwide opinion polls showed that more Americans consider themselves pro-life, including many youth. “I really see the young people being very, very pro-life. It’s apparent in the increase in statistics and apparent in the young people coming into the movement,” said the nun.
Pregnancy service center clients in the 18-25 age category, the largest group experiencing crisis pregnancies, are more open to listening to the pro-life message than the previous generations since abortion was legalized, noted the ILS founder. “They’re not churched generally, but there’s a spiritual sensitivity and they’re coming in larger numbers to the centers,” said Sister Vandegaer.
