When Louise Summerhill founded Birthright in Toronto in 1968, she wanted to be a friend to women facing unplanned crisis pregnancies. Birthright has since expanded throughout Canada, the United States and Africa, offering hope, support and resources to women in need.
Birthright of Columbus opened its doors in October 1972. The pregnancy resource center continues to honor Summerhill’s wishes by befriending women in crisis pregnancy situations and offering support to new mothers in Columbus for 51 years.
“Louise’s thought was, a woman struggling with an unwanted pregnancy, maybe she just needs a friend, someone she could talk to, someone who would help her find what she needed and be there for her,” said Barb McMullen, the director of Birthright of Columbus.
“Louise firmly believed that it is the right of every woman to give birth and the right of every child to be born. Therefore, Louise named her new ‘child’ Birthright.”
Birthright of Columbus celebrated its 51st anniversary with a luncheon on Sept. 23 at Mozart’s cafe in Columbus’ Clintonville neighborhood. McMullen shared the history of Birthright with volunteers, donors and friends who gathered to support Columbus’ oldest pregnancy resource center.
“Birthright relies on you, our donors, to support us,” McMullen said. “Birthright of Columbus does get some grant money. However, you are what keeps Birthright of Columbus’ office open to any woman that needs a friend.”
Birthright of Columbus is operated exclusively by volunteers, and it affiliates with Birthright International of Toronto. The pregnancy resource center is located in Columbus’ west side in the Great Western Shopping Center.
“Although Louise was a Catholic, she never wanted anyone to be afraid to come to Birthright due to religious beliefs,” McMullen said. Birthright services are confidential. “Louise did not want any woman to worry about what she told the Birthright volunteers.”
The pregnancy center is nonpolitical and does not accept government money, McMullen said. Birthright is also nonmedical. It does not offer ultrasound scans or have medical equipment.
Pat Day, a parishioner at Hilliard St. Brendan the Navigator Church, has volunteered at Birthright for 23 years. She was encouraged to volunteer by a fellow parishioner who volunteered there.
“It’s very rewarding, very rewarding, and I just love it,” she said.
Mothers will often come in and say, “‘My baby’s 6 months old, and I need some diapers, and do you have any clothes?’” she said.
“I can see the happiness and the relief on a lot of the clients’ faces. You know, anybody can come to the door and say, ‘I need diapers for my baby.’ We just want to be a friend to pregnant women and ask them what their needs are and if we could help them in any way, and that just gives me a lot of joy.”
While Birthright was founded to be a friend to pregnant women, the center also serves mothers after they have given birth and need items for themselves and their baby. The center offers diapers, maternity clothes and other necessities.
Clothing for babies and young children is especially needed during winter, Day said. Birthright has provided mothers with infant-size snowsuits and winter jackets.
Day said many new mothers need cribs and car seats for their babies. Birthright offers referrals for equipment, such as car seats and portable cribs.
Volunteers can refer mothers to organizations such as Columbus Public Health, which has a program for mothers to get car seats and portable cribs, Day said, and CelebrateOne, an initiative of the city of Columbus.
Sandy Wilcox, a parishioner at Columbus St. Margaret of Cortona Church, has been a Birthright volunteer for 16 years. She recalled when she first learned about the pregnancy resource center.
“At Mass one Sunday, Msgr. (Frank) Lane was up talking about Birthright after his sermon, and as I was listening to him, I felt moved, but I felt a big smack on the back of my head,” she said. “I thought somebody in the pew behind me had hit me. I turned around and nobody was there.”
Wilcox continued to feel a “nudge” toward Birthright in the following weeks, but she did not think she could volunteer for many reasons. She visited Birthright’s office, and, still feeling a call, completed volunteer training.
“Birthright has done many wonderful things for the clients that come in,” she said. “When they come in, we sit down with them. We ask them questions about their life and ask them how they’re doing, kind of sitting down with a friend, and then we ask them what they need, and then we supply some things to them.
“But most of all, we’re there just to share, whether they’re happy, whether they’re sad, whether they’re distressed, whether they need somebody else in their life. We’re there for them continuously for up to two years as they raise their child; we just don’t drop off.
“We say, ‘We’ll be here for you,’ and then we keep up with contacting them to make sure – up until those two years – if they need anything, or if they don’t need anything, or just follow up.”
Wilcox said Birthright does many referrals and assists mothers “if they need clothing or furniture or housing, those kinds of things that a lot of times nobody thinks to ask.”
Volunteers ask a client, “‘Do you have a bed for your baby?’” she said. “‘We want you to have a bed,’ and then we refer them to where they can get one.”
Deena Poirier, a parishioner at Columbus St. Timothy Church, has been a Birthright volunteer for about five years. She was honored as the Birthright volunteer of the year.
“The Old Testament and the New Testament talk so much about how God’s people need to react to the alien, and that God holds us responsible for how we take care of the alien, and at Birthright, we have the chance to do that,” Poirier said. “It’s such a privilege to carry out God’s will in that way.
“Sometimes the language barrier is pretty steep, but we’ve never had a case where we couldn’t figure out how to help.”
Attending the luncheon was Ana, a new mother, who came to the U.S. last year from Venezuela. Ana contacted Birthright for help when she found out she was pregnant with her son, Adam.
Father David Schalk, the pastor of Columbus St. Peter and Powell St. Joan of Arc churches, translated for Ana, who speaks Spanish.
Ana said that she sent an email to Birthright and received a reply from McMullen, who scheduled an appointment for Ana at the office. McMullen was “moved by my story,” Ana said, and helped her by providing diapers and maternity clothes.
After Adam was born, Birthright continued to assist Ana by providing clothing and necessities for him. McMullen also gave Ana information on “all of the different resources around the city,” she said.
McMullen referred Ana to the Columbus Our Lady of Guadalupe Center and the Ohio Dominican Learning Center.
“She’s continuing to receive help from Birthright,” Father Schalk translated for Ana. “They’re doing more than just helping Adam. They’re also helping her find English as a Second Language classes.”
McMullen and Ana communicate through a translation app on their phones. The two have become friends and continue to communicate regularly.
Ana said she desired to be a mother, but she found out 15 years ago that she would be unable to have children. She met her husband two years ago, and he thought that he found the “right woman,” because he did not want children, she said.
Later, Ana visited her doctor when she suspected she had a medical problem. She was sent to a hospital for testing, and there she learned she was pregnant. Her husband became upset, she said, and began fighting with the hospital nurses.
Ana worried that her husband would leave her if she had the baby, but “she made up her mind right away that she was going to be a mother no matter what, that she was going to accept this child as God’s will,” Father Schalk translated for her.
“That’s why she went to look for additional help because she needed that help, thinking that she was going to be by herself raising the child.”
Ana said her husband accepted their son, but she fears that her spouse will leave her. Birthright continues assisting Ana and provides necessities for her and her son as they endure a challenging family situation.
Olivia Smith, 16, a student at Columbus St. Francis DeSales High School, spoke about her experience helping women at Birthright.
Smith is a member of Boy Scouts of America, which opened to girls in 2019. She wanted to help pregnant women in the greater Columbus area for her Eagle project, which would earn her the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest rank in Boy Scouts. Her mother asked if she had heard of Birthright.
Smith contacted McMullen and helped move Birthright from its previous Mound Street location to the Great Western Shopping Center. Smith and her Boy Scout troop helped plan and organize volunteers for the move, which, she said, took four months. Birthright moved into its new location on Dec. 28, 2022, the feast of the Holy Innocents.
Smith also hosted a donation drive for Birthright. Her friends, family and members of the Knights of Columbus council at her parish, Westerville St. Paul the Apostle Church, donated baby clothing up to size 18 months; maternity clothing, including women’s petite and plus size; and diapers. Smith delivered the donations and restocked Birthright’s shelves.