Abortion is more than just a physical procedure. It’s a procedure that can offer heartbreaking negative complications to one’s psyche as well. Often overlooked and many times misunderstood, the emotional after effects of abortion go unseen. Frequently, women make an abortion decision thinking it is a quick solution to a problem. They believe once they get through the physical procedure, they will have their life back just as before the pregnancy. In fact, many women can feel an instant relief right after their procedure thinking everything is okay now that it’s over. However, what few express or comprehend are the detrimental emotional problems that can follow an abortion.
Recently Focus on the Family published an article entitled, ABORTION ETHICS: IS IT EVER OKAY? You can read the informative article HERE. In it, they analyzed several studies to see how abortion affected women emotionally. Not surprisingly they found women experience a moderate to high increase in psychological problems following an abortion. Here are some difficulties women in the studies experienced following their abortions.
- Anxiety disorders increased by 34 percent.
- Depression increased by 37 percent.
- Alcohol abuse increased by more than 100 percent.
- Suicidal behaviors increased by more than 100 percent.
- Marijuana use increased more than 200 percent.
Church leadership often find themselves in the position of counselor. It would behoove us to keep in mind the potential connection of individual’s personal struggles with a past abortion. It is prudent when working with those with great emotional pain to see if an abortion decision is part of their past.
Abortion often leaves a gaping, raw wound that if not healed will turn into an infection affecting the entire person. Every church should have a great referral source for a Biblical after-abortion healing group or provide a study of their own at their church. Pregnancy Centers usually offer an after abortion Bible study and you can find a center nearest you by clicking HERE. If you would like to provide an after-abortion Bible study at your church, you can check out the post-abortion trainings and curriculums on our Resource Guide by clicking HERE.
As a church, we are positioned to offer the healing power of Jesus Christ to the wounded around us. If not the church, where else will people find true healing for the wounds they carry. Martin Luther King, Jr. eloquently pointed out from the Good Samaritan story: “I imagine that the first question the priest and Levite asked was: ‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’ But by the very nature of his concern, the good Samaritan reversed the question: ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?”
What will happen to those in our communities who are struggling emotionally from a past abortion if the Church does not offer a bridge to true healing? Let’s commit to doing our part in being the one who will stop to help!
