Voices From the Walking Wounded

Details: 17 August 2012

January 22, 2013 marks the 40th anniversary of the infamous Supreme Court ruling of Roe v. Wade which legalized abortion during all nine months of pregnancy for virtually any reason. During this 40 years, more than 45 million innocent unborn children have been aborted leaving tens of millions of women and men grieving this terrible decision—usually in silence with little societal recognition or support. And the casualties continue to mount day after day, year after year.

A booklet on post-abortion healing produced by the Archdiocese of Boston’s Project Rachel program, points out that an estimated 30 percent of American women will have an abortion. "Many of these women will at some point suffer from grief and regret from their abortion decision," the booklet says.

"Their pain is often a silent one. Personal abortion experiences are rarely discussed among family or friends. For some women, there is also an internal shame associated with abortion that makes them feel ‘unforgivable’.

"Since 1985, the Project Rachel ministry of the Catholic Church has been offering hope and healing from the pain of having participated in abortion. Five women who have participated in the Project Rachel ministry of the Archdiocese of Boston have written about their personal post-abortion healing experiences for this booklet… in hope that other women (and men) who are living with the secret pain of abortion will also come to experience the peace and healing of God’s divine and tender mercy."

Here are some excerpts from their testimonies:

Testimony One: "I remember during those dark years, I would wake up each morning and for a few brief seconds, all was well. Then I would remember what I had done. The grief was all-consuming. But, like so many other women, I kept it locked inside. I had accepted my fate. I was unforgiveable.

"It took me several months to muster up the nerve to call [Project Rachel]. I had done a fine job of beating myself up for years and I certainly didn’t need the person on the other end of the phone to make me feel any worse. But, [the call] was not like that at all. The voice on the other end was warm and full of hope for me…. Thanks to Project Rachel, I am me again….Little did I know that God was there, all along, offering me love beyond measure. Project Rachel literally lit the path for me."

Testimony Two: "Many years ago, I was young and naïve and I became pregnant at 17. I was so afraid… of my parents’ reaction, of life ahead, of how to be a mom… My parents told me that I would have an abortion. I was ashamed of myself and I had shamed my family. I had an abortion as arranged.

"Although my mom loves God and had instructed me in his ways, I think that she betrayed her own beliefs to try to salvage my future. I was told to never talk about this with anyone and to go on with my life… I spent the next 26 years in emotional bondage. I was heartbroken. I felt ashamed, guilty, lonely, empty, unlovable, unforgivable, and I hated myself. I felt undeserving of love from people or God. I had an emotional breakdown.

(After contacting Project Rachel), "my life changed drastically! I attended the weekend retreat and learned that God’s love and forgiveness is awesome and vast. This allowed me to begin to forgive myself… I came to understand that God does hate sin but loves me, the sinner. Special blessings came when I took the risk and shared all of what was happening with my mom. She cried and confessed that she too had been tormented by shame and guilt for all those years… [and] had the opportunity to reconcile with God and me before her death."

I share the hope of this booklet’s authors that these stories will be a catalyst for women and men suffering from an abortion experience to seek the hope and healing of God’s divine mercy through the assistance of Project Rachel. Project Rachel can be accessed online at www.hopeafterabortion.com or by calling 888-456-HOPE (4673).

You can contact Greg at The Nebraska Catholic Conference, 215 Centennial Mall South Suite 310, Lincoln, NE 68508; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.