2008 Woodie Awards
A personal account of a
Fr. Jorge M. Randle, IVE, Contributing Writer
Issue date: 12/8/05 Section: Perspectives
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Let's stop this grief. Unfortunately, abortion is a topic that many have complacently accepted because it is legal. However, just because something is legal does not mean that is it moral and right. Abortion not only kills a baby, it destroys the spiritual and emotional being of the mother as well.
As a man and a priest, I will never fully understand the impact that abortion has on a woman who procures one. It is only in hearing from those who suffer from post-abortion pain that one can get a glimpse of the confusion, guilt, and grief that a woman endures before and after the decision to abort. I hope that in sharing with you parts of a testimony from a post-abortive woman, that you will have compassion toward those suffering with its aftermath.
"I was 18 and dating a man my parents strongly disapproved of [...]. I realized I was pregnant when the smells from chemistry class kept making me sick. A friend convinced me to go to her doctor in town. He diagnosed a pregnancy immediately. He never once said anything about keeping the baby, but gave me a card from the local abortuary [...].
"I had heard some things about abortion, and I knew it was probably wrong. So that whole week, I talked with friends and teachers, looking for advice. One female teacher in particular advised me to have it done. She told me that she had had several abortions, that it was "nothing", and that I didn't need this trouble in my life [...].
"When the time came, my boyfriend and some friends from school went with me."
"I was led to a room with a whole group of girls, just like me, waiting to have their babies killed. No one talked. No one looked at anyone else. They called our names, one by one. I was very scared [...]. With the counselor, I mostly cried. But she just agreed with every-one I had talked to. Yes, this is a bad time to have a child. Yes, you're too young. Yes, having a child costs a lot of money. Yes, it would be so hard for you to raise a child on your own. Yes, this is the best thing to do."
As a man and a priest, I will never fully understand the impact that abortion has on a woman who procures one. It is only in hearing from those who suffer from post-abortion pain that one can get a glimpse of the confusion, guilt, and grief that a woman endures before and after the decision to abort. I hope that in sharing with you parts of a testimony from a post-abortive woman, that you will have compassion toward those suffering with its aftermath.
"I was 18 and dating a man my parents strongly disapproved of [...]. I realized I was pregnant when the smells from chemistry class kept making me sick. A friend convinced me to go to her doctor in town. He diagnosed a pregnancy immediately. He never once said anything about keeping the baby, but gave me a card from the local abortuary [...].
"I had heard some things about abortion, and I knew it was probably wrong. So that whole week, I talked with friends and teachers, looking for advice. One female teacher in particular advised me to have it done. She told me that she had had several abortions, that it was "nothing", and that I didn't need this trouble in my life [...].
"When the time came, my boyfriend and some friends from school went with me."
"I was led to a room with a whole group of girls, just like me, waiting to have their babies killed. No one talked. No one looked at anyone else. They called our names, one by one. I was very scared [...]. With the counselor, I mostly cried. But she just agreed with every-one I had talked to. Yes, this is a bad time to have a child. Yes, you're too young. Yes, having a child costs a lot of money. Yes, it would be so hard for you to raise a child on your own. Yes, this is the best thing to do."