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Birthright Inc. seeks new home By JONEL ALECCIA Mail Tribune T o tell the truth, fewer women than ever make it past the closed tavern, up the old stairs and behind the worn door to the Birthright Inc. office at 125 S. Central Ave. in Medford. Last year, the agency that offers pregnancy services aimed at avoiding abortions saw 93 walk-in clients, performed 114 pregnancy tests and fielded 265 phone calls, director Helen Puccetti says. That's fewer than a quarter of the contacts made a decade ago, and far fewer than the agency saw during its peak in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Despite the decline, Puccetti and other organizers say there's still a need for the agency that offers information and advice about unplanned pregnancies. And they're dismayed at the prospect of losing offices they've occupied for 27 years when the sale of the site known as the Franklin Building becomes final Feb. 1. "I'm going absolutely berserk finding a place to move to," says Puccetti, one of four staff and a handful of volunteers at the agency. "We have to continue; we have to survive. We don't feel we have a choice." But survival remains uncertain for the local chapter founded in 1973 by Mary Sergeant, who still volunteers with the group. The Kalberer Co., a Portland-based hotel supply company, sold the building Birthright occupies for $395,000 on Dec. 5 to Mountain Development of Medford, Jackson County assessment records show. The property is assessed at $392,000, with a real market value of $528,040. That means Birthright must find a new home. But Puccetti says it's unlikely the agency with an annual budget of $11,000 will find new space for the old price. "Our rent was very reasonable," she says. "Less than $200 a month." Organizers believe it's important to continue the local work of the national agency founded in 1968 by Louise Summerhill, a housewife and mother from Toronto, Canada. Although the group is staunchly opposed to abortions, Birthright has tried to avoid the political polarities that surround the issue. "We feel like we can do a much better job for the girls if we're not waving banners," Sergeant says. "We don't use scare tactics; we don't show bloody things." Instead, the agency offers an approach that includes pamphlets for area referral services and pink plastic prototypes of developing fetuses in the womb. Most of their clients are young girls and women who see advertisements in local high school newspapers and the telephone book, Puccetti says. Kathy Morgan of the Magdalene House, a home for teen mothers, says some of her clients have used Birthright services, especially free pregnancy tests. But other agencies say the group's anti-abortion stance is troublesome. The local Planned Parenthood office, for instance, does not refer women to Birthright. "We refer to neutral sources," explains Kellie Shoemaker, the agency's community outreach coordinator. Puccetti is searching for a new site, preferably in downtown Medford. In the meantime, Sergeant says women facing unplanned pregnancies can still get help. The Birthright office will remain open until Feb. 1 from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. For information, call 772-5971. The 24-hour North American hotline number is 1-800-550-4900. "It's really important for a girl who finds herself in a rough situation to have someplace where she won't be judged," Sergeant says. "We're really good listeners." Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.