In my mailbox, the following arrived. It's from the U.S. of A. but, in this instance, only the numbers involved make it any different from here in the U.K.
"Abortion has had a massive tearing effect on America during the past 39 years. Not only has this emotional issue polarized the nation, and not only has legalized abortion removed millions upon millions of faces from family photos, but it has ripped apart the hearts of those countless women who have regretted the choice they made.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, one third of all women in America will have had an abortion by age 45. Many never tell their families and bear this burden in silence, suffering through every Sanctity Of Life Sunday in churches, feeling too much shame to seek help for the grief and guilt they still feel. While abortion is allegedly about freedom of choice, a significant number of women are coerced into the decision by boyfriends or relatives. Many think that they can never be forgiven - they think that while God can forgive them for other sins, they cannot be forgiven for this one. Abortion is a double-tragedy; it destroys an unborn life, and it can seriously damage the lives of those left behind.
There are many things that people can do to help, to not only stop abortion in the future, but to also help these women (and men too) who have been damaged by abortion. The Elliot Institute, an organization dedicated to post-abortion healing, suggests the following steps that can be taken to foster abortion healing in our churches and communities.
-Pray for those who have suffered from an abortion. Pray for those men and women who give post-abortion counseling. Pray for organizations that help people to find healing after an abortion.Abortion is promoted as a freedom that strengthens women and gives them control of their lives. Instead, it has weighed many women down with emotional and spiritual chains that they would gladly trade away if they could. As a community that cherishes the life of the unborn, let's remember to care for the mothers as well. ...
-Encourage your pastors and church leaders to foster abortion healing, from teaching about the harms that abortions have caused women, to the hope and forgiveness that can be found through Jesus Christ.
-Support a crisis pregnancy or post-abortion healing ministry – through finances, prayer, or by volunteering yourself.
-Donate books on post-abortion healing to your local library.
-Educate community and pro-life leaders about the need for helping post-abortive women. Keep up on research and provide them with the information they need to be informed on this issue.
-Write to your legislators and encourage them to not only promote pro-life policies, but pro-women policies that recognize the harm that abortion has on women.
... Few American lives have been untouched by abortion during the past 39 years. We all know somebody who has had an abortion, or somebody that could have been aborted. Some of us are that person ourselves. The issue has come up in family after family, and we are no longer naive about the reality of the life inside the womb or of the true nature of the abortion business. We have far fewer illusions about the reality of "choice."
Keep praying for the millions of young lives in jeopardy even today. And keep praying for their precious mothers, many of whom feel like they have no good options."
You might also want to view this piece by a young woman who, miraculously, survived abortion!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5YlJ9CZ9fI
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