A Voice for the Unborn

I didn't kill him either...

2009-06-12T12:06:00.003-05:00

In today's Philadelphia Daily News (via RCP), Christine Flowers makes a smart observation regarding the double standard applied to guilt by association.

Excerpts:

I DIDN'T kill George Tiller.

Neither did Bill O'Reilly, Randall Terry, Pope Benedict or the little old lady praying the rosary outside Planned Parenthood.

So to all of the pro-choice advocates and their sympathizers in the media, drop the collective guilt trip, OK? Because the myth that the pro-life movement bears any responsibility for Tiller's death is on par with the fairy tale that most abortions are performed to protect a woman's health....

The man who murdered Tiller, Scott Roeder,... was not one of us. He was a psychopath, a man whose demented mind led him to commit a crime that is, essentially, the antithesis of what the pro-life movement represents.

But that's not the way it's being played on the editorial pages of the New York Times, the Washington Post and our sister paper here in Philadelphia. Somehow, Tiller's blood is on the hands of all of us who ever wore a rose in our lapel, protested in front of an abortion clinic, criticized Roe v. Wade or sent money to crisis pregnancy centers.

WHICH IS really interesting because those same opinion pages loudly lamented any demonization of Muslim-Americans after 9/11. They were appalled that a whole group of people could be blamed for the criminal acts of 19 men. They took great pains to call Islam a religion of peace and distinguish it from the violence of extremists.

And they condemned guilt-by-association.

They've even downplayed the fact that the killer of a soldier outside of an army recruitment center was a Muslim convert who spent time in that favorite vacation destination for budding terrorists: Yemen.

But when it comes to the pro-life movement, there isn't the same attention to detail....

It's an excellent point. The same folks who bent over backwards to make sure we understand that peaceful Muslims were not responsible for 9/11 have no problem not only connecting peaceful pro-Lifers like you and me to Tiller's assassination, but portraying it as evidence of a growing movement of violence.

Most in the left-leaning media wouldn't know a religion of peace if it bit 'em.

Comments fixed - y precauciones de España

2009-06-11T20:53:00.002-05:00

A friend confirmed (thanks!) that there was a problem with posting comments here. I did some digging, and I think I found the problem. You should be able to post comments now.

He also pointed me to a New York Times report about a clash between a Catholic educator and the Spanish Prime Minister.

One day last month, Sister María Victoria Vindel gave her 15-year-old students a shockingly graphic lecture on reproductive health: PowerPoint slides of dismembered and disfigured fetuses interspersed with biblical quotations and pictures of a grinning José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Spain's prime minister.

"They laugh while many innocent children will die," one of the captions read. The presentation ended with the message, "No to abortion, yes to life!...."

The school, where Sister Vindel is headmistress, refused to comment on the slide show, which appeared to be downloaded from the Internet. The regional government, run by the opposition Popular Party, sent inspectors to the school, a Catholic institution that is financed partly by the state and partly by the parents. The government called the presentation "inappropriate" and said that it could constitute "moral aggression...."

Another important nugget in the story is the illustration of how the "health of the mother" exception to laws restricting abortions is used as a wide open door to obtaining abortions in Spain.

Abortion is technically a crime in Spain, though a law introduced in 1985, 10 years after Franco's death, permits abortions under certain circumstances. In practice, however, abortions are widely available because doctors cite a mental health exception.

The current law allows terminations in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy only in cases of rape and in the first 22 weeks in cases of congenital disorder. However, a woman can abort at any time if her mental or physical health is at risk — an exception cited in about 97 percent of abortions in Spain, according to Empar Pineda, spokeswoman for the Spanish Association of Accredited Abortion Clinics.

This is why abortion rights supporters in the US fight so hard for these health-of-the-mother exceptions. "Health" can be so vaguely defined that the resulting loophole is so large as to render abortion restriction laws ineffective.

The Night Writer has more about this and the direction to which Spain is headed generally.

Dead babies and injured mothers, FREE today only!

2009-06-10T18:29:00.003-05:00

An abortion clinic in Philadelphia has "honored" the memory of George Tiller by giving away free abortions.

Philadelphia, PA (LifeNews.com) -- An abortion business in Pennsylvania is drawing criticism [f]or giving away free abortions on Tuesday in honor of slain late-term abortion practitioner George Tiller. The Philadelphia Women's Center said the free abortions were meant to show appreciation for Tiller, who was allegedly killed by extremist gunman Scott Roeder.

Town Hall columnist Jillian Bandes said a staff member at the abortion center said an unspecified number of free abortions were done yesterday for Tiller's "memory and legacy...."

Troy Newman, president of Operation Rescue, correctly reminds us that while these abortions were free, they were not without cost.

"There seems to be no comprehension of the value of human life with these people. Killing babies for free to honor someone who was murdered can only be described as sick," he told LifeNews.com.

"There is no such thing as a 'free abortion,'" said Newman. "It costs the life of an innocent baby and puts the women at risk for increased problems in their lives. The loss of each innocent life diminishes us all."

CHZ LIF

2009-06-09T19:50:00.003-05:00

This week marks the ten-year anniversary of the introduction of "Choose Life" license plates.

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- It began as one man's dream to save lives by promoting adoption as an alternative to abortion and it has resulted in raising millions of dollars. That's the Choose Life license plate effort that started in Florida and has moved to dozens of states that either have the plates or are working to get them.

Russ and Jill Amerling are the founders of the national effort to put the yellow license plates with a child-like drawing of the faces of a boy and girl on vehicles across the nation.

Little did they know that the plate or one like it would grace the bumpers of cars in 24 states and generate more than $10 million for adoption agencies, maternity homes and pregnancy centers....

According to Choose-Life.org, MCCL is hoping to eventually promote the introduction of these plates in Minnesota.

Congratulations to the Amerlings for the success of a truly worthy cause!

Shout out from the Strib!

2009-06-04T12:02:00.002-05:00

Well, whaddyaknow -- it looks like this humble little blog has made the big time of sorts. The Star Tribune's latest "Blog House" opinion piece, entitled "When words are a loaded gun," features my post on the murder of George Tiller.

Unfortunately, the author, Tim O'Brien only snipped out a few carefully selected sentences and, shall we say, "massaged" the context to fit his premise. That premise, you ask? Well, here's how O'Brien starts the piece:

No one should have been shocked by the assassination of George Tiller on Sunday in Wichita, Kan. Tiller was one of the few remaining doctors who performed partial-birth abortions and had been the target of physical violence in the past.

But the 67-year-old doctor had also been the target of another kind of violence -- an unrelenting stream of verbal violence. He had been called "Tiller the Baby Killer" and had been compared to Nazis and Al-Qaida. And that was just by Bill O'Reilly.

The heightening of political rhetoric, whether it is about abortion or about former Vice President Dick Cheney or about President Obama, has many people worried that Tiller will not be the only casualty....

So, from this we are to conclude what, exactly? That Tiller's killer was motivated by Bill O'Reilly's hate speech? That we dare not criticize President Obama's policies, or he might be next?

When citing me, O'Brien cherry-picked:

No fan of Tiller or his profession, A Voice for the Unborn (5) tried to put the tragedy in the proper light:

George Tiller was not your ordinary abortion doctor. George Tiller was personally responsible for hundreds, if not thousands, of late-term abortions. ... [T]o add a bit of perspective, in the US since 1973, less than one abortion doctor has been murdered for his practice for every 10,000,000 babies aborted during that time.

Maybe I'm being overly sensitive here, but doesn't it seem as though O'Brien is implying I endorsed Tiller's murder?!

To be clear, I also noted in my post:

The shooting was unjustified and needs to be denounced emphatically, unequivocably, and often.

The shooter acted alone, not as an agent of any pro-Life organization.

The shooter was suspected to have been suffering from mental illness.

And, of course, Mr. O'Brien completely ignored my conclusion, which was:

For all but a few nuts, this doesn't need saying, but the solution to abortion is not to kill abortion doctors, but rather to put them out of business by removing the demand for abortions through compassion and education.

The Blog House piece does, however, support the prediciton I made in the same post:

This is a bad day not only for the Tiller family, but also for the pro-Life cause. The story now is the blood on Roeder's hands, not Tiller's. The story now will be "those crazy right-wingers," not the staggering number of innocent unborn lives lost.... There will still be those who say the Tiller shooting is evidence of extremism rampant within the pro-Life movement. There will be those who conclude that the increased scutiny of pro-Lifers by DHS is justified. They're wrong, of course, but they're the opinions that will be promoted by a biased media.

Oh, well. This was my first time being quoted out of context by (what used to be) a major newspaper. I guess I should feel honored?

tap -- Is this thing on?

2009-06-03T23:37:00.002-05:00

Ok, folks, it's not that I'm feeling lonely or neglected (much...), but I've noticed an unusual lack of comments here lately.

I just want to make sure there's not a Blogger configuration problem here, so if you've tried to leave a comment and have had problems, please send an email to "a (dot) voice (at) comcast (dot) net" and let me know. Thanks.

I'm hoping it's just that my insights have just been so, um, insightful that you've been rendered speechless...

Is she or isn't she?

2009-06-03T18:50:00.002-05:00

I haven't opined about Supreme Court Justice-nominee Sonia Sotomayor yet, primarily because I'm not sure what to think about her yet. Looking strictly through the pro-Life lens, her judicial record doesn't give many clues. We know she had a Catholic upbringing, so we can hope that will have at least some influence on her views toward protecting the unborn.

It is too much to expect a Justice nominated by President Obama to be a firm pro-Lifer, so if Judge Sotomayor is even slightly to the right of the retiring Justice Souter on the Life issue, that is a step in the right direction and a step we should welcome (other ideological problems with Sotomayor notwithstanding). Rush expressed a similar sentiment on his show today.

On the other hand, Sen. Dianne Feinstein today told pro-choicers not to worry, that Judge Sotomayor is on their side.

The bottom line: I still don't know what to think about her.

The Tiller shooting

2009-06-01T18:19:00.003-05:00

George Tiller was not your ordinary abortion doctor. George Tiller was personally responsible for hundreds, if not thousands, of late-term abortions. His specialty was abortions on babies well past the age of viability outside the womb. George Tiller was a monster.

George Tiller did not deserve to be shot to death in his own church. Details are still coming in about the shooter, Scott Roeder, but at least for now, there is no indication that Roeder was acting as an agent of any pro-Life organization. It seems he acted alone, and he may have been suffering from mental illness.

This is a bad day not only for the Tiller family, but also for the pro-Life cause. The story now is the blood on Roeder's hands, not Tiller's. The story now will be "those crazy right-wingers," not the staggering number of innocent unborn lives lost.

According to this article (HT Hugh Hewitt), Tiller was the eighth person and the fourth doctor killed supposedly in the name of the pro-Life movement since Roe v. Wade.

So, to add a bit of perspective, in the US since 1973, less than one abortion doctor has been murdered for his practice for every 10,000,000 babies aborted during that time.

The numbers won't matter, though. There will still be those who say the Tiller shooting is evidence of extremism rampant within the pro-Life movement. There will be those who conclude that the increased scutiny of pro-Lifers by DHS is justified.

They're wrong, of course, but they're the opinions that will be promoted by a biased media. In the meantime, the best thing we can do to negate those opinions is to denounce this shooting emphatically, unequivocably, and often.

Gov. Sarah Palin puts it pretty well (HT Ben Smith at Politico):

I feel sorrow for the Tiller family. I respect the sanctity of life and the tragedy that took place today in Kansas clearly violates respect for life. This murder also damages the positive message of life, for the unborn, and for those living. Ask yourself, 'What will those who have not yet decided personally where they stand on this issue take away from today's event in Kansas?'

Regardless of my strong objection to Dr. Tiller's abortion practices, violence is never an answer in advancing the pro-life message.

For all but a few nuts, this doesn't need saying, but the solution to abortion is not to kill abortion doctors, but rather to put them out of business by removing the demand for abortions through compassion and education.

Silent No More: Chuck

2009-05-26T19:33:00.003-05:00

This is the story of Chuck, who spoke as a member of Silent No More Minnesota at the state capitol in January 2005. When he and his partner aborted their baby years ago, Chuck didn't see it as a big deal, because abortion was so common and socially acceptable. It wasn't until years later, upon having children, that Chuck began to understand the lost potential of that unborn life. Of course, he now regrets the decision to abort.

Click to hear Chuck's story

Transcript:

My name is Chuck. It is impossible to spend any length of time with a child and not find yourself spellbound. You may be amazed at their intelligence and curiosity, perhaps humbled by their honest affection, or just swept away in watching them grow. I know this because I am now fortunate enough to experience these things on a daily basis with my children.

Many years ago, I gave up an opportunity to experience these things, because a previous partner and I opted to terminate a pregnancy we were faced with as very young people. We were afraid of the social stigma, the reaction of our families, and the overwhelming time and economic obligation that having a baby at that point in our lives would entail.

What we did not consider was what we would be giving up. We did not consider the full implication of ending a life before it had a chance to flourish. We did not consider the lost joy of watching him or her grow and be a part of this world. We rationalized our decision based solely on the self-centered considerations and consoled ourselves with the fact that since the option to abort the pregnancy was easily available and many people were doing it, then perhaps it was no big deal.

We were wrong. We didn't admit it at the time. I didn't fully realize it until many years later. Long after that relationship had passed and others had replaced it, I don't think I fully understood the significance until I did have children. It is impossible to watch my children as they grow now and not wonder about what I gave up back then. It is impossible not to grieve the loss of a child I never got to know.

I want to make others aware of this price and encourage them to think, not only about their current situation, but about what they will have to deal with in the future before they decide to abort a pregnancy. That is why I am Silent No More.

Chuck's story is given here with the permission of Silent No More Minnesota. To obtain a copy, please contact SNMM and consider donating to their cause. Their message is powerful and one that more women need to hear before they have an abortion.

Contact info
Website: http://www.silentnomoremn.org/
Phone: 763-536-8800
Email: annmarie@silentnomoremn.org

Previous:

Silent No More: Deb

Silent No More: Colleen

Not a fluke

2009-05-21T20:46:00.002-05:00

Earlier this week, I noted the Gallup poll finding a majority of Americans condsidering themselves Pro-Life. Since then, three others (Rasmussen, Pew, and Fox News) have confirmed the trend.

To those beginning to see the light, welcome. Keep spreading the word, fellow Pro-Lifers!

Thanks, Governor

2009-05-21T19:22:00.002-05:00

Americans United for Life is acknowledging Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty for signing into law SF 2083, a bill that prohibits use of state funds for human cloning.

AUL encourages you to follow this link to send Gov. Pawlenty a note of 'thank you' for standing up for life and human dignity.

Silent No More: Deb

2009-05-19T20:55:00.002-05:00

This is the story of Deb, who spoke as a member of Silent No More Minnesota at the state capitol in January 2005. Deb kept her abortion a secret from her family for twenty five years, and because of that, now she mourns not only the loss of her baby, but also the loss all those years to loneliness and depression.

Click to hear Deb's story

Transcript:

Hello. My name is Deb, and I'm speaking to you today, because twenty six years ago I'd had an abortion, and I wish somebody at that time would have told me that I would someday deeply regret this decision. I was raised in a good Catholic home, the youngest of four kids. I was a quiet kid and mostly went along after the flow. After high school, I started having sex, which also was acceptable behavior in the '70s. This, however, brought down my self esteem, and I though the only way to be accepted was through drinking, pot, and sex.

When I was twenty three, I had just broke off a relationship with a boyfriend, and I was so down, I ended up pregnant with a one-night stand, a total stranger. I was very scared at the prospect of being a single mother and wondered how could I tell my family. My sister was happily pregnant after having a difficult time getting pregnant. My pregnancy would have just brought her down. I didn't want to do that.

As the youngest sibling, I saw how my older siblings had hurt my parents, and I was the good kid. How could I tell them about this? I never wanted them to know. I’m sorry to say that I also saw them be there for all of us and did not trust that. Yes, they would have grieved over the pregnancy, and I know now they also would have been there for me.

I went to the St. Paul Health Clinic to confirm the pregnancy, and the woman asked what I wanted to do. In tears, I said, "An abortion, I guess." She gave me the number to the clinic. She did not offer any empathy or counseling. A friend I confided in stated that the abortion would have the least impact on my life. I know her advice was out of friendship and love. She would not have known, like myself, that it would have the most negative impact on my life.

I also told the ex-boyfriend about the pregnancy, and, thinking it was his, he helped me pay for the abortion and drove me to the clinic. He had hurt me, and I wanted to get back at him. But once the lie was told, I was afraid to back out. I do not remember much about the abortion except the cramping at the time and was told it was just tissue and that I would be able to have children later on. I believed these lies.

On the way home, the ex-boyfriend and I were pretty silent. He just went home, and I saw him a couple of times with friends but we lost contact, and he still does not know the truth.

The years after the abortion, I never felt I fit anywhere. My dream was always to be married and to have children. Relationships with men never seemed to work out. Although I stayed pretty involved with my nieces and nephews, and even foster-cared for two of them, I still wanted children of my own.

When I was thirty eight, feeling the impact of no child, I asked a boyfriend at the time if he'd like a baby. I did not want to marry him, but my need for an atonement child was huge, even outside of marriage. His answer was not using contraception. I ended up pregnant, believing that I would have a December baby, like myself. I ended up with a miscarriage the Friday before Mother's Day. I remember saying to God, "I killed one baby. Now you did. Are we even?" But I felt no peace.

For six years, I fought depression, especially in December. That would have been the time my baby boy would have been born and reminded me I was running out of time to have children. I remember on my forty fifth birthday crying out, "Who would care if I was dead?" I had no purpose. Who would miss me if I was gone? I knew I couldn't go through this depression again. I needed counseling or I'd go on antidepressants, whatever it took.

That January, I started going to church. I remember sitting through a service on forgiveness, crying the whole time, wondering how Christ could forgive me. I could not even forgive myself. The guilt and shame I felt over the years were unbearable. I thought abortion was the unforgivable sin. The church was offering an "Alpha: An Introduction to Christ" group in the fall, and I thought that could be a tool for me. Forgiveness was one of the topics.

I finally found the forgiveness I needed on that Holy Spirit day. Thankfully, Christ became my counselor, and the Holy Spirit my antidepressant. That year, I had the most blessed and peaceful Christmas, but in January, I realized I wanted to mourn the loss of my aborted child. At church, I picked up a brochure, wanting an address from it. The next day, I finally looked at the brochure and found out it was for a post-abortion healing group. I didn't even know these groups existed. I called, and they had an opening left. I knew God was telling me I needed to go and be healed.

I went through the group and was able to share with other women and learn why I always felt alone most of my adult life. I learned that the baby was not the sin. The abortion and everything related to it, the sex outside of marriage and the lies and deceit was. With God at my side, I was able to heal the pain and the grief and mourn the loss of both my children. I found total forgiveness. After twenty five years, I was finally able to tell my parents, and guess what? They grieved for me, they forgave me, they are very loving and supportive, and they are here now. This has taught me to trust in them and the Lord even more. I am now forty nine without a child of my own to hold in my arms, but because of the promise of Christ, I feel I now belong. I have purpose, and mostly I am a beloved child of God.

I'll always regret the choice to abort my baby, but Christ has given me the hope that one day, I will hold my precious Megan and David in heaven. Please know that you can receive this healing through Christ, and this is why I am Silent No More. Thank you.

Deb's story is given here with the permission of Silent No More Minnesota. To obtain a copy, please contact SNMM and consider donating to their cause. Their message is powerful and one that more women need to hear before they have an abortion.

Contact info
Website: http://www.silentnomoremn.org/
Phone: 763-536-8800
Email: annmarie@silentnomoremn.org

Previous:

Silent No More: Colleen

This is huge!

2009-05-17T21:32:00.004-05:00

As we see the controversy swirl around President's Obama being invited to commencement ceremonies at Notre Dame, this bit of good news should encourage us that we are slowly, but surely, changing hearts and minds toward acknowledging the right to life of the unborn.

This Gallup poll finds, for the first time, that the majority of Americans now consider themselves "Pro-Life" (51% - 42%).

Another important result is the number of Americans believing abortion should be either highly restricted or entirely illegal has increased in 2009 (60%) over 2008 (57%).

Gallup's "Bottom Line" from the poll results:

With the first pro-choice president in eight years already making changes to the nation's policies on funding abortion overseas, expressing his support for the Freedom of Choice Act, and moving toward rescinding federal job protections for medical workers who refuse to participate in abortion procedures, Americans -- and, in particular, Republicans -- seem to be taking a step back from the pro-choice position. However, the retreat is evident among political moderates as well as conservatives.

It is possible that, through his abortion policies, Obama has pushed the public's understanding of what it means to be "pro-choice" slightly to the left, politically. While Democrats may support that, as they generally support everything Obama is doing as president, it may be driving others in the opposite direction.

As the Left continues down an increasingly radical path in its pro-abortion agenda, reasonable people will push back if they are educated, and that's where we come in. Keep up the fight, folks. In today's political climate, we won't be winning any major legislative battles anytime soon, so a persistent information campaign is our next best option.

Tell the truth, and spread the word.

Imagine the potential

2009-05-13T21:05:00.000-05:00

Silent No More: Colleen

2009-05-13T12:01:00.000-05:00

This is the story of Colleen, who spoke as a member of Silent No More Minnesota at the state capitol in January 2005. Colleen's abortions nearly destroyed her life before she eventually found redemption. Then, when giving birth, Colleen sufferred from medical complications caused from the previous abortions. Naturally, she was not warned about these risks by her abortion provider.

Click to hear Colleen's story

Transcript:

Good afternoon. My name is Colleen [last name redacted]. I'm the Director of Metro Women's Center at Crisis Pregnancy Center here in the Twin Cities area. I've been in that position for fifteen years. But mostly today, I'm here today to speak to you because when I was eighteen years, old I became pregnant and I had an abortion.

I always thought that abortion was wrong, because it took the life of a child. Yet when faced with the reality of a pregnancy myself, I abandoned my position and made arrangements to have an abortion. When I entered the abortion clinic, I was taken to a small room, where I undressed and lay on the exam table. I was very afraid, but I was more afraid of leaving the clinic without having the abortion done. A part of me died that day. It went away through the suction tubing that removed the child from my womb.

After the abortion, drug and alcohol abuse became common for me. In a few months, I was pregnant again. I quickly made an abortion appointment, and this time I did not cry. I tried to think of something to distract me from the pulling and the tugging going on inside my womb. I couldn't wait to get drunk, so I could numb my sense of loss and guilt.

I soon experienced a third pregnancy and another abortion. Like many women, each time I aborted a child, I felt a surge of relief. But I had wrongly assumed that abortion would solve my problems, but things just got worse. My life continued to spiral downward, and I became pregnant again. By this time, I had become suicidal. I searched the Yellow Pages for help, and I finally called a pregnancy help center for assistance. I decided to face this pregnancy, and I soon delivered a beautiful baby, and placed this precious new life into the arms of his adoptive mother.

I was not told that one of the medical risks from abortion was that scar tissue could form inside the womb. Shortly after delivering my son, I hemorrhaged, because by uterus had so much scar tissue inside it due to the abortions. I required a transfusion to stabilize my situation.

For many years after that, I tried to avoid the reality that my abortions had taken the lives of three of my children. There came a time when I could not avoid the truth any longer. I needed to face the deaths of my children. I stopped denying that I had sinned against God, and I realized that my guilt I was experiencing was ruining my life. I found help through a post-abortion ministry, and I began to consider how abortion had devastated my life. Through my healing, I found that God is a god of forgiveness and mercy, and that through my relationship with Him, I have been forgiven and set free of the guilt and the shame of abortion. Once I repented of my abortions and humbled myself before Him, I truly began to heal.

If you have had an abortion, I want you to know that you do not need to remain a victim of your choice. There is hope and healing in the Lord. By acknowledging your personal responsibility for your abortion, healing can begin. By acknowledging the reality that abortion took an innocent life and by asking God for his forgiveness, you can be set free from the bondage of guilt and shame. Through post-abortion ministry, you can find compassion and help to work through abortion’s negative impact on your life.

The most important thing about abortion I think everyone needs to know is that abortion is not an eraser. It may make you un-pregnant, but it makes you the mother of a dead baby. Abortion always affects people emotionally, physically, and spiritually on some level, whether society is willing to acknowledge it or not. Abortion causes a loss, and its consequences simmer beneath the surface of the lives of the abortive people that are here today -- abortive people like you and like me. Abortion negatively affects our peace of mind and our well being. If you are in need of healing from abortion, get help today. You can stop being spiritually and emotionally victimized by your choice. You do not need to remain silent anymore.

Colleen's story is given here with the permission of Silent No More Minnesota. To obtain a copy, please contact SNMM and consider donating to their cause. Their message is powerful and one that more women need to hear before they have an abortion.

Contact info
Website: http://www.silentnomoremn.org/
Phone: 763-536-8800
Email: annmarie@silentnomoremn.org

Previous:

Silent No More: Tina

2009-05-11T11:00:00.000-05:00

This is the story of Tina, who spoke as a member of Silent No More Minnesota at the state capitol in January 2005. She already regretted the abortion she had as a teenager, but her regret became overwhelmingly clear years later, when she could feel the movement of a baby inside her.

Click to hear Tina's story

Transcript:

Hi. My name's Tina, and I'm here today, because twenty one years ago, I made the terrible and life-changing decision to abort my first child. It is my hope that by sharing my pain and regret that it will help someone else avoid a similar terrible choice.

It was the fall of 1984, and I had recently turned 17. I was in my senior year of high school and had my first steady boyfriend. It was late November when I first suspected I was pregnant. I didn't tell anyone, but I wrote it down in a journal I was keeping for English class. My mother accidentally came across my journal entry while browsing through my notebook.

As expected, my parents were shocked and disappointed in me. They took me to the doctor, who confirmed that I was indeed pregnant. The doctor suggested an abortion. I remember feeling very detached, like he was talking about someone else. This couldn't be happening. I didn't know what to do. I do know that I desperately wanted my life back to normal, and I wanted the look of disappointment to disappear from my parents’ eyes.

So I made an appointment for an abortion on December 28th. There's a lot I don't remember about that day, but what does stand out is the clinic counselor. She didn't counsel me at all. She did fuel the already raging fire of fear and doubt. She agreed with me that I was far too young to think about becoming a parent, and she reminded me that I had no way to support a child. She assured me that my life would return to normal, that it would be like this had never happened.

She lied. You cannot take the life of your child and go on like it never happened. I tried to pretend that everything was fine, but it wasn't. I couldn't concentrate at school, and eventually dropped out. I broke up with my boyfriend, the father of the child, and starting living a very destructive and promiscuous lifestyle.

I couldn't be around pregnant women or babies. I felt like I was contaminated and I would somehow taint them. I couldn't go to church, because I was certain that God was disgusted with me. How could he love me when I couldn't even stand myself?

Three years later, I met and married my husband, and in 1990 became pregnant with our first child. I had already started to realize and accept that my decision to abort my first child was a mistake and was trying to accept the fact that God still loved me and could forgive me.

The final event that convinced me once and for all that my choice had been the wrong one was the day I felt my daughter move for the first time. That was the single most wonderful and horrifying moment in my life. I was filled with joy and awe, at the same time with dread and regret, because it was at that moment that I fully realized what I had done.

I fell on my knees and begged God to forgive me, and He has. He also gave me the words and the courage necessary to be here today. God didn't make this happen to me, but He did allow it, and I believe that it was so I could be here for such a time as this. So I could speak out and tell everyone who will listen that abortion isn't the answer, and it doesn't solve any problems. It just creates new ones. And that is why I am Silent No More.

Tina's story is given here with the permission of Silent No More Minnesota. To obtain a copy, please contact SNMM and consider donating to their cause. Their message is powerful and one that more women need to hear before they have an abortion.

Contact info
Website: http://www.silentnomoremn.org/
Phone: 763-536-8800
Email: annmarie@silentnomoremn.org

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