Women are banding together to say they #wontbepunished for having an abortion in response to Donald Trump’s statement that “There should be some kind of punishment”- for women who have an abortion if it becomes illegal.
FYI Mr. Trump the trauma of having an abortion is punishment enough.
I know women who have regret, pain and even guilt about their decision. It is so common that psychologists have a special term for it- Post Abortion Stress Syndrome or PASS.
Most pro-lifers are so because of their religious beliefs. The saddest part of this, is that, to avoid the stigma of publicizing your carnal sin by being an unwed mother, many women will opt for the abortion and compound guilt by one sin for another. The religions that are so opposed to abortion seem to, unknowingly, promote it. This is corroborated by statistics showing the large number of women who have religious beliefs that abort.
What proportion of U.S. women obtaining abortions are religious?
Answer
More than seven in 10 U.S. women obtaining an abortion report a religious affiliation (37% protestant, 28% Catholic and 7% other), and 25% attend religious services at least once a month.[38] The abortion rate for protestant women is 15 per 1,000 women, while Catholic women have a slightly higher rate, 22 per 1,000.[32](gutttmacher.org)
Unfortunately, I have witnessed firsthand the stigma and ostracization of those within the church who have bravely chosen life and continue to attend church with their pregnant belly baring the shame of their sin. I also experienced a church that disciplined a staff member who got his girlfriend pregnant. Because, they chose life, and did not hide their sin, he was punished.
My personal understanding of the pain of abortion, lies in a miscarriage I had with my first child. I lost my baby at 8 weeks, which is about the time that most women abort. I remember the emotional pain of that loss to this day. There is an incredible bonding that happens between a mother and baby that is meant to give the baby its best chance for survival.
Recent studies give us a deeper biological source of this bonding. Your baby leaves souvenir cells in your body. This could explain why women say that having a child is like watching your heart walking around outside your body
As a member of a healing prayer team, I had the privilege of witnessing God’s heart for women who suffer from their decision to abort. In one session, we prayed against the Spirit of Death. Two women came forward for prayer for their abortions. As I prayed for them, I had a vision of Jesus holding their baby in His arms. As I shared my vision with these women, tears rolled down their face and the shame and guilt melted away.
I think of the words of Jesus to the woman caught in adultery.
“He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” 8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience,[h] went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her,[i] “Woman, where are those accusers of yours?[j] Has no one condemned you?”
11 She said, “No one, Lord.”
And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and[k] sin no more.”
If the church wishes to be prolife, it is time that it celebrates and not punish those who choose life outside of the bonds of marriage. It is also time to embrace and love those who suffer the pain of not choosing life. If Mr. Trump is going to call himself a Christian he should follow Christ’s lead and forgive and not condemn.
cindybiondigobrecht 