“Hope and Healing” Goes to Washington

Nearly one and a half million copies of Hope and Healing, the Elliot Institute’s educational insert on post-abortion grief and healing were inserted as paid advertising in the February 27th issue of The Washington Post, and five community newspapers in California, Florida, North Carolina, and Illinois. This will nearly triple the total circulation of Hope and Healing since it was first published in 1998.

The distribution of Hope and Healing in Washington, D.C., is being underwritten by the Archdiocese of Washington to supplement a major post-abortion outreach campaign they began in early February. Along with the dioceses of Baltimore and Arlington, the Archdiocese of Washington is the first in the country to implement a new outreach campaign developed by the Catholic Church’s post-abortion healing ministry, Project Rachel.

Over at least an eight week period, “The Beltway” will be exposed to nearly a thousand bus and subway placards, eight billboards, and 200 radio ads per week offering post-abortion counseling and raising public awareness of the great emotional loss that follows abortion. The theme of the campaign is “Something inside dies after an abortion.” In the months to come, the Project Rachel outreach materials will be used in numerous other dioceses around the country as part of the Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year effort to promote post-abortion healing.

While the Project Rachel outreach effort is separate from the Elliot Institute’s non-denominational Hope and Healing campaign, Elliot Institute Director Dr. David Reardon says they convey a similar message: “We’re not here to judge or condemn those who have had abortions. We understand the troubles that drive people to choose abortion and the feelings of loss and alienation that follow. If you or your loved ones are experiencing grief or guilt, you’re not alone. We can help.”

Reardon believes the Project Rachel campaign by the Catholic Church will encourage more post-abortion outreach by other Christian denominations. “Many denominations have already begun to pay greater attention to the need to minister to women and men in their churches–and outside their churches–who feel excluded or hurt because of a past abortion,” he said. “Project Rachel has raised the standard for outreach efforts. We pray that other denominations will expand their programs, too.”

Originally published in The Post-Abortion Review, 8(1), Jan.-March 2000. Copyright 2000, Elliot Institute.