Guide to the Papers of the Clergy Consultation Service, 1967-1979
Descriptive Summary
Collection Title: Papers of the Clergy Consultation Service, 1967-1979
Call number/identifier: Manuscript Series CXXVIII
Origination: E. Spencer Parsons
Physical description: 1 box, 0.4 linear feet
Languages: Collection is in English.
Repository: Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections
Abstract: These materials collected by E. Spencer Parsons consist of articles, newspaper ephemera, correspondence, minutes of meetings, membership rosters, and sermons and addresses related to the activities of the Clergy Consultation Service between 1968 and 1976. A book on the history of the organization is also included: Arlene Carmen and Howard Moody, Abortion Counseling and Social Change: from Illegal Act to Medical Practice; The Story of the Clergy Consultation Service on Abortion, 1973 .
Subjects
Parsons, E. Spencer
Moody, Howard
Brown, Ralph E.
Campbell, William J.
Carmen, Arlene
Miller, Vern
Woods, Denis
Ruether, Rosemary Radford
Ketchum, Jesse
Ticktin, Max D.
National Clergy Consultation Service on Abortion
Chicago Area Clergy Consultation Service on Problem Pregnancies
Illinois Religious Coalition for Abortion Rights
JANE (Abortion service)
Abortion--United States
Abortion services--United States--History
Abortion services--Illinois--Chicago
Pastoral counseling
Administrative Information
Source of Acquisition
E. Spencer Parsons, dean of Rockefeller Chapel of the University of Chicago, donated this collection on the Clergy Consultation Service and its activities to the McCormick Library in October 1999.
Copyright Restrictions
Available for research. Copyright for materials resides with the creators of the items in question unless otherwise designated.
Preferred Citation
Papers of the Clergy Consultation Service, 1967-1979, Manuscript Series CXXVIII, Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections, Northwestern University Library.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Sigrid Pohl Perry in July 2000 and encoded by her into XMetaL in September 2004.
Related collections in the McCormick Library Paula Kamen collection on JANE (Series CXXV) Jenny Knauss collection on women's health (Series XCIII)Women's Ephemera Files (WEF) on abortion and JANE. Inquire at the McCormick Library reference desk for these materials.
Abstract: These materials collected by E. Spencer Parsons consist of articles, newspaper ephemera, correspondence, minutes of meetings, membership rosters, and sermons and addresses related to the activities of the Clergy Consultation Service between 1968 and 1976. A book on the history of the organization is also included: Arlene Carmen and Howard Moody, Abortion Counseling and Social Change: from Illegal Act to Medical Practice; The Story of the Clergy Consultation Service on Abortion, 1973 .
Biographical History
The Clergy Consultation Service was founded in 1967 by twenty-one ministers and rabbis who established the counseling service to advise women about problem pregnancies and make referrals on medical issues including abortion. This group was initially centered at Judson Memorial Church in New York City where Howard Moody served as senior pastor. The New York CCS raised money to fund a Reproduction Crisis Facility in 1969 which operated until repeal of that legislation in 1972. The U.S. Supreme Court ruling on 23 January 1973 guaranteed women the right to choose when and whether to bear children.
Scope and Content note
E. Spencer Parsons served as chairman of both the Chicago Clergy Consultation Service on Problem Pregnancies and the Illinois Clergy Consultation Service. This collection contains articles and newspaper ephemera on abortion, his files related to the National Clergy Consultation Service on Abortion (1969-1973), the Chicago Clergy Consultation Service on Problem Pregnancies (1967-1973), and the Illinois Religious Coalition for Abortion Rights (1974-1979), including membership rosters, correspondence, minutes, and articles.
Description of Contents
Carmen, Arlene and Moody, Howard. Abortion Counseling and Social Change: From Illegal Act to Medical Practice; The Story of the Clergy Consultation Service on Abortion. Valley Forge: Judson Press, 1973. [ Folder 1 ]
Correspondence, membership, articles, 1969-1973. National Clergy Consultation Service on Abortion. [ Folder 2 ]
First National Conference on Abortion Laws, Chicago, February 14-16, 1969. [ Folder 2 ]
Brownmiller, Susan. "Abortion Counseling: Service Beyond Sermons," August 1969. [ Folder 2 ]
Conger, S.B., "Evaluation of Abortion Services at Women's Medical Services," 1970. [ Folder 2 ]
Davis, N.J., "Clergy Abortion Brokers: A Transactional Analysis of Social Movement Development," 1973. [ Folder 2 ]
Grinspoon, L., "Addiction, Dependence, and the 'Stepping-stone Hypothesis,'" 1971. [ Folder 2 ]
Harvey, H.H. and Pyle, B.Y.E., "On the Healthiness of Four Thousand Abortions in a Free Standing Abortion Service," 1970. [ Folder 2 ]
The Hooker's Hookup; A Professional Journal. vol. 1 no. 2, Winter 1980. Published by Judson Memorial Church, New York City. [ Folder 2 ]
Kuehn, E., "Minnesota Girls Go to Mexico because Abortion Is 'Less Illegal' There," 1970. [ Folder 2 ]
Moody, Howard, "Heroin: The Law Is Worse Than the Drug," 1972. [ Folder 2 ]
Nathansson, B.A., "Ambulatory Abortion: Experience with 26,000 Cases (July 1, 1970-August 1, 1971)" [ Folder 2 ]
Miscellaneous short articles and newspaper clippings. [ Folder 2 ]
Fliers, memos, correspondence, membership, minutes, statistics: 1969-1976 Chicago Area Clergy Consultation Service on Problem Pregnancies [ Folder 3 ]
Correspondence, memos, fliers, policy statements, questionnaires, contact list for the Midwest, U.S., and Mexico City: 1967-1973. Chicago Clergy Consultation Service Illinois Citizens for the Medical Control of Abortion Society for Humane Abortion Choice Illinois Clergy Consultation Services [ Folder 4 ]
Pro-Duosterone Pregnancy Calculator [ Folder 4 ]
Recommendations, clipping, sample questionnaire Cooperation Abortion Referral & Evaluation Service (CARES) [ Folder 5 ]
Correspondence, minutes, press releases, clippings, membership: 1974-1979. Illinois Religious Coalition for Abortion Rights (RCAR). [ Folder 6 ]
Miller, E., "Religious Liberty and Abortion," New England Conference of the Religious Coalition for Abortion Rights. November 4, 1976. [ Folder 6 ]
"We Affirm. . . ; excerpts from statements about abortion rights. . . religious organizations," 1978. [ Folder 6 ]
Fliers. Religious Coalition for Abortion Rights of Massachusetts. 1979. [ Folder 6 ]
Abortion: editorials, press releases, articles, clippings, correspondence with media, 1969-1976. [ Folder 7 ]
Abortion cases: legal briefs, clippings, correspondence, 1971-1976 Brown, Ralph E. Campbell, William J., judge and dissenter in civil action. Miller, Vern, Kansas attorney general. Ruether, Rosemary Radford, statement on free choice. [ Folder 8 ]
Abortion cases: correspondence, clippings, legal briefs, press releases, 1970-1973: Ketchum, Dr. Jesse, Parsons, E. Spencer, Ticktin, Rabbi Max D. [ Folder 9 ]
Correspondence, including letters from users of the Clergy Consultation Service 1968-1976, Parsons, E. Spencer. Woods, Denis, letter includes sermon draft. [ Folder 10 ]
Articles, press releases, statements, sermon: 1970-1974. Parsons, E. Spencer. [ Folder 11 ]
"Abortion: Conscience and Public Policy," Parsons, E. Spencer. [ Folder 11 ]
"Abortion: A Private and Public Concern," January 1971, Parsons, E. Spencer. [ Folder 11 ]
"Symposium Population: Moral Issues," 1973, Parsons, E. Spencer. [ Folder 11 ]
"Drugs and the Law: A Problem in Ethics," May 1974, Parsons, E. Spencer. [ Folder 11 ]
"Clergy Consultation Service on Problem Pregnancies: Background Information on the Legal Aspects of Abortion," Parsons, E. Spencer. Three versions of a handout prepared by Parsons. [ Folder 11 ]
Sermon draft, August 1970, Woods, Denis. [ Folder 11 ]
Dilitation & Curettage article related to abortion, 1971, Steinberg, M.D. [ Folder 11 ]
Notes for "San Diego file," chronology of events, statistics, 1967-1973, Parsons, E. Spencer, Chicago Clergy Consultation Service. [ Folder 12 ]
"A Survey of Over 20,000 Abortions at the Cook County Hospital," 1961-1965. [ Folder 12 ]
Questions and answers regarding abortion (blank surveys) [ Folder 13 ]
