Hidden Pain

Politics suppresses the problems of many post-abortive women

Her tears spilled from her cheeks as she told me the story of her abortion, some 11 years earlier. “Last fall, my husband put his arms around me from the back and whispered in my ear, ‘Our baby would have been 10 years old today,’ and we both cried,” she said as more tears came.

She was in for her first prenatal visit, excited about having her third child. As part of her obstetric history, I asked her about other pregnancies. She happily told of her two term pregnancies. But then I asked if she had experienced any miscarriages or abortions. I learned early in my career that woman generally don't mention abortions unless specifically asked. “Oh, yes, one abortion,” she said. Then I asked an open-ended question, the question that generated all the tears, simply, “How do you feel about that?”

“Oh, terrible. It's the biggest mistake I've ever made in my life,” she said. I've heard many other women use that exact phrase.

Click here to read the full article by Matt Anderson in this month's issue of WORLD Magazine. Embracing Option's PACE program offers full support and healing counsel for women who have suffered the after-effects abortion.