[4] Women Hurt was founded in 2011[n 1] by Bernadette Goulding and Lynn Coles, both of whom regretted their abortions.
[2] Goulding in 2003 had founded an Irish chapter of Rachel's Vineyard, a similar organisation with a Catholic perspective.
[8][9][1] Coles had worked with a group called Surrendering the Secret, described as "an abortion recovery Bible study rooted in the Gospel".
[13] In 2017, Women Hurt was one of 17 groups selected to present to the Citizens' Assembly during its review of the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution, which underpins Irish abortion law.
[14] Women Hurt was represented by Anthony Levatino, a Doctor from the US,[15] which drew criticism for being a male doctor talking about abortion rather than a personal story from a woman who regretted her abortion.