Nov 10 Nov 10 "I believed I should be punished for having premarital sex, so I felt I deserved to lose control over my life." Sharing Truth Two Abortions, United States, Christianity “My personhood was erased and overwritten with MOTHER before I even knew who I was . . . I had two abortions after my children were born, and I don’t regret those abortions or think about who those people would have been. I also realize that if I had continued those pregnancies, I would have loved those people. Yes, it can be true that you will love the child if you don’t have the abortion. It’s also true that whatever you thought would be so hard about having that child, whatever made you consider not having a child at that point in your life, may be exactly as hard as you thought it would be. As undesirable, as challenging, as painful as you feared.” Read more.
Oct 12 Oct 12 'The two decisions we made to have children were far more morally significant than the decisions to end two pregnancies." Sharing Truth Christianity, United States, Two Abortions “Today’s Christians cannot stay silent while pregnant people in our communities are being harassed, abused and forced to bear children by the state. Recognizing and affirming that parenting is a sacred responsibility means that we need to recognize the moral wisdom my momma shared with me: “You shouldn't have a baby just because you are pregnant – you should have a baby because you want to be a mother, you want to have a family.” Read more.
Sep 1 Sep 1 "My mindset believed what my religion told me to believe." Sharing Truth Christianity, United States “I am a Christian, nothing will ever change that, but when it comes to my daughter I will do what I think is right no matter what. I also knew deep in my heart that I was going to do what I knew was best for myself. I did research on abortion and that research made me realize that medical abortion was the best way to go.” Read more.
Oct 8 Oct 8 “I wouldn’t be a minister if I hadn’t had my abortions.” Spreading Love Christianity, Judaism, United States Read this story about faith leaders who support people through their abortions. It includes interviews with two people who each have experienced two abortions.
Sep 28 Sep 28 What Happened When A Doctor Asked Pro-Choice Christians to Say 'Hey' on Twitter Spreading Love Christianity, United States, Canada It was a one-line tweet asking people to say “Hey” if they support reproductive choice. The outpouring of kind and affirming messages was a welcome surprise in a world long dominated by religious shaming, harassment and terrorism. Read more.
Aug 29 Aug 29 "That I have a choice represents His love for me and no one should judge that or come between that." Spreading Love Christianity, Canada “Religious indoctrination becomes anti-love when faced with the choice of Grace. You discredit the women and men making those choices in the circumstances they are facing and lack compassion for their suffering. You dishonour that these people might have a relationship with Jesus or that He is doing His work in their lives. You show disdain for an incomprehensible and highly individual decision. Your ignorance becomes your religious shield, instead creating barriers and separation for those hurting souls who need Jesus’ love.” Read more.
Aug 18 Aug 18 "It was difficult for me to distinguish that personal grief from the anti-abortion rhetoric I had internalized in my childhood." Spreading Love Christianity, United States “For most of my childhood, I accepted the anti-abortion rhetoric I heard at church wholesale. As I went through high school, my feelings about abortion and other social issues — like LGBTQ rights and gender equality — evolved. Being anti-abortion made less and less sense to me, oddly enough because of other values that my church instilled in me as a child, including social justice, compassion, and nonjudgment of others.” Read more.
Jul 24 Jul 24 "I was the only one who knew what would be the best decision for me and my future, and I made this decision based on my own conscience and personal relationship with God." Spreading Love Christianity, Colombia, Later Abortions “I needed to have an abortion, and it was not a hard decision for me to make. I realized that it was about self-determination. I was free to decide if I wanted to terminate my pregnancy, and no one—not my church or my parents—could tell me what to do. I was the only one who knew what would be the best decision for me and my future, and I made this decision based on my own conscience and personal relationship with God.” Read more.
Jul 23 Jul 23 "I made my fellow churchgoers recognize that you can’t separate the issue from the people who need help." Spreading Love Christianity, Australia, Later Abortions “We’re still trying to change the general attitude that if you have an abortion, you must have done something wrong to begin with. I do have patients who are struggling not only with this social stigma, but also with a moral or spiritual conflict. I always remind them: “You need to look after yourself, but God is here for you.” I have nothing but overwhelming love and support for the woman standing in front of me. I believe God does, too. He would want me to do everything I could to care for this person—and that doesn’t exclude abortion.” Read more.
Jul 8 Jul 8 "I believe that providing reproductive healthcare is moral, because it benefits those who have made the decision to want the service." Spreading Love Christianity, Kenya “We had so many patients who needed abortions, and some of them ended up with severe complications. Others died. That compelled me to look more deeply at the science behind abortion. Medical science is different from faith. Faith is about believing; there is no evidence in faith. Sometimes, medicine and faith clash but, if you’ve chosen to be a medical person, you have to accept the scientific evidence. You have to live by these ethics. It may come down to choosing between saving a life and sticking to your faith. As a health provider, I always choose to provide a service to save a life, because even that is godly.” Read more.
Jul 8 Jul 8 "It just wasn’t right—this young woman shouldn’t have died from a botched abortion." Spreading Love Christianity, United States “As a medical student at Mount Sinai, I made several mission trips to Sierra Leone and Ghana. The first time I traveled to Ghana, I saw a patient who had performed an abortion on herself. This was 1985. The young woman developed clostridium; she had lockjaw. She was dying. There were no medicines or vaccines there to treat her. This was not the way anybody’s life should end. I already knew that I wanted to work in gynecology and obstetrics, but from that point on, my advocacy for women’s healthcare really solidified.” Read more.
Jul 8 Jul 8 "People who have abortions do not need to apologize or beg for forgiveness, they have done nothing wrong." Spreading Love Christianity, United States “What is wrong is the wholesale condemnation of people who choose not to remain pregnant, and the undeniable effects of the Church’s interference with abortion access. If Pope Francis were serious about taking the Church in a more progressive, merciful direction, he would stop fanning the flames of abortion stigma and focus instead on protecting women’s health and well-being. He could, for starters, denounce unsafe abortion—for example, when women do not have access to legal abortion care, they may attempt to self-induce or seek out clandestine abortion—which is responsible for 47,000 deaths annually. That would truly be ‘pro-life.’ “ Read more.
Jul 8 Jul 8 "If someone feels like ending their pregnancy is what they need to do, there is no reason why they shouldn’t be able to, and no reason why God would look down on them for it." Spreading Love Christianity, United States “It wasn’t until I got to college that I really started talking to people with various points of view. When I learned is that abortion is not an act of murder that goes against God’s will, but a medical procedure that every person should have a right to, my mindset completely changed. Abortion isn’t this inhumane act that deserves the stigma it has; it’s a health-care service that allows people to live the life they’d like to live.” Read more.
Jul 8 Jul 8 "When bodily autonomy is taken away, to me, that is against Christian scripture, and is against the Gospel I believe in.” Spreading Love Christianity, United States “I believe reproductive rights and bodily autonomy are deeply important. I believe that is faithfulness to Christianity. I believe in access to safe and legal abortions. I believe that the person who can best make these decisions is the person who’s considering these decisions. I have known people who have accessed abortion and reproductive care. Some haven’t had any emotional turmoil over it. And I know people who saw it as a hard decision. I believe every person I encounter, including myself, has the right to their body.” Read more.
Jul 8 Jul 8 "We don't need forgiveness for our abortions." Spreading Love Christianity, United States “Though the media may portray Pope Francis as a gentler patriarch, his language reinforces the stigmatizing stereotype that all women who have abortions are deeply scarred, spiritually damaged, and wallowing in our existential grief. “The tragedy of abortion is experienced by some with a superficial awareness, as if not realizing the extreme harm that such an act entails," the pontiff wrote. I could tell Francis many things to disprove his belief: That I weighed the moral consequences. That I thought about whether or not my fetus had a soul. That I prayed to the Blessed Mother. That I still made an appointment with Planned Parenthood. That if only he asked us Catholic girls first, some of us would have told him we don't need forgiveness. “ Read more.
