They said it.
“Abortion can produce a deep, subtle (and often permanent) fracture of the trusting relationship that once existed between a child and a parent.”
Garton, J. The Cultural Impact of Abortion and Its Implications for a Future Society. In: Mannion M, editor. Post-abortion Aftermath (Kansas City: Sheed and Ward, 1994: 88 – 99; P91
Share on FacebookThe pro-life group Live Action published the story of a woman who became pregnant as a result of rape had an abortion. Years later, she found out that she herself had been conceived in rape and that her mother had considered committing suicide while pregnant with her.
Irene was raped when she was in her 20s and found that she was pregnant Here is part of Irene’s testimony:
“When my doctor informed me that I was pregnant, I was in shock. It felt as though the legs had been sawn off from under my chair, as if I was falling into a deep abyss. In a whirlwind of events, I ended up in an abortion clinic, but the counselor said I was too far along. I was on the verge of it being allowed to be done legally.”….
I will never forget the sound of the old creaking heavy wooden door, the black and white checkered tiles, and as I was waiting to sign papers, I watched the big clock at the far end of the room, the minutes ticking away to the death of my child. There was an ominous atmosphere, as if death hung in a cloud in the air. I was petrified. The imprints, the sounds, the images, stay with me to this day. In a side room, with some six other women…waiting for our turn, the women were laughing and giggling, and asking each other why they were having it done. …
I started thinking about my situation. I realized I was a mother, with a baby inside me, regardless of how she got there. But when I said this to the nurse who came to collect me, she patted me on the shoulder and said, ‘There there now. You all say that at the last minute – you’re doing the right thing’.
….
The abortionist started yelling at me, and I froze…in sheer panic and terror. … With feet in the stirrups, legs tied, and arms outstretched, also tied, I felt like we were sheep about to be slaughtered. Already having gone through rape, this was horrendous. This is what women’s lib thought was okay? I lost consciousness and awoke to now be the mother of a dead baby, a nightmare that would follow me the rest of my life. The pain was horrendous. The women who had been so chirpy at first, were now all groaning and in tears and crying out to God to forgive them, others crying out ‘my baby!’ while others cried that they were so sorry.
Irene kept this terrible experience to herself for many years, but, according to the article, Mother’s Day was particularly hard as she remembered the baby that she had lost. When she found out that she had been conceived in rape, she regretted having an abortion even more:
It is a sore realization that I did not give my daughter that opportunity. I wish I could turn the clock back, but of course I can’t. But I can now help educate. I often would think how old she would have been now, but couldn’t handle the emotions, so I would stuff it further. When I eventually was able to forgive the rapist, I found it difficult to forgive myself for what I had done. The father (rapist) harmed me, but I harmed my own baby – she was my own flesh and blood.
Nancy Flanders “The Rape Exception: The pain of abortion after rape” Live Action News April 30, 2013
Share on FacebookA group of pregnant couples met in a study where they had amniocentesis to see whether or not their children had an abnormality and planned to abort the babies if they did.
Said one woman in the study:
“One mother gave voice to her sense that an already affected child felt threatened by her visit to the center when she found him hiding in the closet upon returning.”
In this case, the handicapped child was afraid the mother would kill him in addition to killing her unborn sibling.
“One father stated that there was “no good way to explain to your own child that you might have had a part in deciding the end of his life.”
John C Fletcher “The Brink: The Parent-Child Bond in the Genetic Revolution” Theological Studies 33 no. 3 (September 1972) 457 – 85, 466, 464
Share on FacebookFrom a forum at BabyCenter
“A few months ago, my wife miscarried twins she was carrying. One, a boy, was lost at 14 weeks. The second, a girl, was lost at 16 weeks. The boy was lost at home.
My question is an honest one- have any of you who believe that abortion is okay actually seen a fetus at fourteen weeks? From everything I had was ever told by the press, etc, I was totally unprepared for what I saw….Imagine a baby, born after nine months, but with no hair and only about 8 inches long…fingers, toes, arms, legs, nose, mouth, everything. All this at only 14 weeks.”
14 weeks, early in the second trimester, is still a time when many abortions take place. It is legal to abort at 14 weeks in every state in the US.
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After years of fertility treatments and the adoption of two babies, Nancy unexpectedly found herself pregnant at the age of 42. Noting that she and her husband would be in their 60s when the baby entered high school, Nancy says:
“What kind of sick joke is God playing on me? I’m a weary mother of two with a high-pressure job and a house that’s falling apart! I can’t raise another child.”
She decides to have an abortion.
“if I’m going to have an abortion, I have to learn something from the experience. I can’t just look at this pregnancy as a mistake. I’m going to change my life in positive ways because of it. I write a list of all the things that having this child will keep me from doing — traveling, making career changes, fixing up our house, and especially spending quality time with my first two children — and I vow to make good on them. I can be a class parent, take the girls on day trips, be more present in their lives. A life that recently seemed overbooked suddenly appears wide open.
I reach out to friends who I think will support my decision. It’s amazing how many of them have had abortions that I didn’t know about. Although I can see hesitation in their faces — in one case real strain — I manage to block it out. Feeling bolstered, I make an appointment for a “termination consultation.” The appointment is a week away, so I can always back out. I stop taking the prenatal vitamins. They only make the nausea worse.”
…..
Two days later, I go to my termination consultation. Two minutes into the conversation, I know I don’t have the heart to go through with an abortion. Maybe I never did. I look at the sonogram screen and am shocked to see the baby has arms and a head. Four weeks ago, in my doctor’s office, it looked like a grain of rice. I walk out into the sunshine and realize I’m having another child.
A week later I’m sorting through summer clothes and packing some up for charity. Roma keeps taking things out of the giveaway bag, and I get annoyed. “But Mom,” she says, “We need to save these for the baby.” John and I haven’t said a word to her, but she already knows.”
Her daughter has sense that her mother is pregnant without a word being said. If the mother had had an abortion, how would this have affected her daughter, who was aware of the baby? Many times, the siblings of aborted babies suffer depression. Read the testimony of one sibling.
Nancy “”I’m What?”Accidentally pregnant at 42, I faced the hardest decision of my life” Parenting http://www.parenting.com/article/im-what?page=0,0&src=syn&dom=aolhp&dartkw=aolhp
Share on FacebookA man whose wife aborted two babies against his will says the following:
“Abortion is a decision that doesn’t just affect the woman. It is a choice that also affects the father. He may have been the one who demanded and coerced the woman into the abortion, or he may have been the one who stood silently by as the choice was made, without ever being part of the decision-making process, and told about it only after it was an accomplished fact. In either case, the husband becomes conflicted, despondent, and angry.
The views of both husband and wife become perverted, and their perspectives are tossed upside down. Deep down in their hearts, men sense the death of their baby, and they may suffer from the symptoms of Postabortion Stress – just as much as women do.”
Cheryl Chew Make Me Your Choice: Compelling Personal Stories of Struggle and Healing for Those Who Have Had or Dealt with Abortion (Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image Publishers Inc., 2006) 58
Share on FacebookFrom a man identified only as Jim who regrets the abortion his wife had:
“Since that day, the choice I made – the one I forced her to make because I was scared and confused – has haunted me without end. There is not one day that goes by when I do not recall the black Wednesday that changed our lives – the day I took her to the abortion clinic. I hate Wednesdays!
She tried to be so brave and understanding with regard to the burden this child would bring upon us in light of the fact that my new career as a musician was starting to hit. You see, I was getting bookings for clubs up and down the state. How could my career take off with a brand-new baby and wife? I barely had enough money to pay my traveling expenses to the different gigs. I just couldn’t afford the extra cost of having a family. Little did I know how much our decision was going to cost me in the future. I would lose my sweetheart, my soul, and finally my peace of mind… I know that Jesus has forgiven me, but it still is very hard for me to forgive myself. I made a choice, a decision that literally destroyed my hopes and dreams as a young man. The zeal I once had for life was replaced with an ache in my heart that just won’t go away.
Do I deserve love? Do I deserve a family? Do I deserve happiness? I’m still searching and I’m still trying to put the pieces together and work things out in my head. Relationships have become hard for me. I just can’t seem to relate to any woman. It’s as if I have this big hole in my heart and no one can fill the void. I’ve dated some very nice ladies, but nothing ever came of those attempts to build a relationship. The fault was theirs; it was mine. So here I am, sitting all alone day after day, month after month, year after year.”
Cheryl Chew Make Me Your Choice: Compelling Personal Stories of Struggle and Healing for Those Who Have Had or Dealt with Abortion (Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image Publishers Inc., 2006) 51 – 52
Religious beliefs expressed in testimonies are not endorsed by site owner.
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A month before my 18th birthday I was raped by someone I considered a friend. I was already depressed & by the time I realized I was pregnant I was far too afraid to tell anyone & had an abortion. I prayed there would be people outside the clinic to talk me out of it, but no one was there. I’ve regretted that “choice” for over 14 years. Rape is not an excuse for abortion! I’d much rather have my son here with me than to have the pain & hurt of knowing I chose to kill him. Thankfully I’ve found forgiveness & healing in Christ & now counsel other post abortive women & do whatever I can to end abortion & help women who find themselves with an unplanned pregnancy. -Ashley Sigrest
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