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Amy Laiken Biography by
Amy Laiken(1999)
While
at a meeting of the Abortion Task Force in 1974, I became aware of
the Health Evaluation and Referral Service (HERS) and joined almost
immediately. In the early years of HERS I was mostly a telephone counselor,
which frequently involved referring women to various health facilities
when they requested such referrals. In conjunction with at least one
other woman, I also performed on site clinic inspections. Shortly
after joining HERS and learning that it was a work group of the Chicago
Womens Liberation Union, I decided that it was a good idea to become
active in the larger umbrella womens organization. In 1975 I served
on the CWLU steering committee as a representative of HERS, and also
taught Spanish in the Liberation School. After the CWLU disbanded
in 1976, HERS was incorporated as an independent entity, and I served
on its board of directors until 1984.
While
answering the telephone at HERS I acquired skills in listening and
responding to women in stressful situations. Those experiences led
me to enroll in graduate school, where I earned a masters degree in
counseling. I also believed that my involvement in the Chicago Womens
Liberation Union prepared me to assume leadership positions in two
other womens reproductive rights organizations, and in the anti-nuclear
and anti-intervention movements.
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