1960s
Expansion of Planned Parenthood
Throughout the 1960s the Washtenaw League for Planned Parenthood continued to expand. As stated in the document to the left, the organization had a five times increase in their number of patients and had to move to bigger spaces twice in order to accommodate them. The organization was starting to become accepted as an important part of the community and gave speeches to the University of Michigan. The organization had also come to realize that over half of their patients come from lower-income households and for that reason worked to continue to expand in order to provide services to women in need (Washtenaw County League for Planned Parenthood, 1963).
Pre-Roe Abortion Support Groups and Activism
In 1967, the Problem Pregnancy Counseling Clergy Group got its start in New York. This group was made up of Clergy members who believed in access to safe abortion services for all women. When this movement came to Michigan, Reverend Bob Hauert became the leader for the Ann Arbor area, alongside 10 other clergy members (Johnson-Levy, 2022).
This task force "established problem pregnancy counseling and abortion referral services within the University, connecting women with abortion clinics in legal states and coordinating their travel and care " (Johnson-Levy, 2022). This was part of a larger network of clergy and advocates for abortion that connected women to reproductive services around the country.
Another essential part of this service was identifying abortion clinics to refer pregnant women to. By 1969, the group had already started referring women in Michigan to New York to get access to abortions. The group continued it work into the late 1970s.
