100,000 women use crisis pregnancy text service

AROUND 100,000 women concerned about a crisis pregnancy in the past three years have used a State-funded mobile phone text service to get help, it was revealed yesterday.

The Crisis Pregnancy Agency’s Positive Options text service, mainly used by women aged 15 to 20, received a total of 373,000 text messages since it was launched in April 2003.

The agency’s programmes and communications manager Orla McGowan explained that the figure of 100,000 crisis calls was arrived at after account was taken of repeat texts for additional information and of hoax callers.

Women looking for help can text 50444 to receive a list of six national agencies including the Irish Family Planning Association, Life, One Family, Pact, Cura, Dublin Well Women and are then asked to reply for more information.

The service was set up on a pilot basis in December 2002 but was not widely promoted until April 2003. On the first day it was advertised it received 1,000 requests. The agency, which recently received a Public Service Excellence Award for its Positive Options campaign, has 12 agencies participating in their crisis pregnancy service, offering a wider geographical spread and more counselling hours.

Agency chairwoman Olive Braiden said the positive options campaign had been very successful in letting women know that there are excellent counselling and support services available to them free of charge.