{"id":271671,"date":"2022-07-04T07:41:40","date_gmt":"2022-07-04T12:41:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=271671"},"modified":"2022-06-30T23:42:48","modified_gmt":"2022-07-01T04:42:48","slug":"post-abortive-women-grieve-roe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/post-abortive-women-grieve-roe\/","title":{"rendered":"Post-abortive women grieve anew in wake of Roe’s reversal: ‘I can’t ever take it back’"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

When I first got the news about the overturn of <\/span>Roe v. Wade<\/span><\/i>, I cried non-stop for hours. Tears of joy were quickly followed by tears of bitter regret over what <\/span>Roe<\/span><\/i> has cost me. Because 28 years ago, a scared, 16-year-old version of me aborted a child who deserved to live in a state where what I did is now illegal. And if not for <\/span>Roe<\/span><\/i>, I would have children \u2013 and maybe even grandchildren \u2013 today. As it is, these are dreams that will never come true.<\/span><\/p>\n

Old Wounds, Renewed Pain<\/b><\/p>\n

My reaction is not unique. Regretful post-abortive women from coast to coast have been responding to the news \u2013 and to the firestorm of <\/span>violence<\/span><\/a> which has been unleashed as a result \u2013 with mixed feelings of joy and sorrow. <\/span><\/p>\n

Post-abortive ministry leaders say they are seeing an across-the-board uptick in the number of calls and messages they are receiving. More women are signing up for healing retreats and classes. Online post-abortive support groups are seeing an increase in the number of women applying to become new members. And many post-abortive women who have already been through the recovery process have expressed that they are once more feeling the pain of wounds they thought were long-since healed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Melissa (last name withheld for privacy reasons), for example, says: \u201cI\u2019m 27 years out [from my abortion] and found healing from Rachel\u2019s Vineyard and Forgiven and Set Free Bible study about 12 years ago. Have been doing well but have been truly triggered by everything going on \u2013 flashbacks and panic attacks.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Similarly, Stephanie Jacobson with <\/span>H3Helpline<\/span><\/a>, an organization which connects post-abortive women with recovery services, expressed this:<\/span><\/p>\n

I have been very settled with the healing I have received since I began the healing journey 5 years ago. \u2026 But the day after the overturning of [<\/span>Roe v. Wade<\/span>], I began to think about the legal aspect of what I did. I\u2019ve always said I would have never sought an illegal abortion. I don\u2019t seek to do things against the law of the land. \u2026 <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

So now that \u2026 I live in a state that has banned abortions altogether, my heart skipped a beat. It took me back to the original thought: if [<\/span>Roe v. Wade<\/span>] didn\u2019t exist, I would have a 42-year-old child. Once again, it stung.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Sarah Steel wrote <\/span>this<\/span><\/a> response to the Court\u2019s decision on Facebook:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I believed it was my choice. I believed my life would be destroyed. I was fed a lie at such an early age that being a teen mom was a death sentence. My thoughts were not my own. I was told by the law and medicine to believe it was the best thing. I WAS WRONG. I TAKE IT BACK. I CHANGE MY MIND. Please let me choose the other choice. But I can\u2019t. It\u2019s final. And I can\u2019t ever take it back.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Looking Forward to a More Just Future<\/b><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, others have expressed a sense of justice served. Serena Dye, who founded <\/span>Changing the Culture<\/span><\/a>, a non-profit organization which shares the pro-life message with legislators and churches, said this:<\/span><\/p>\n

As a post abortive woman who was forced to have an abortion as a fifteen-year-old, I was in tears when the news of the overturn of <\/span>Roe V. Wade<\/span> came. I never wanted to abort my baby and so I feel that justice has been served for not only me and my baby, but for the countless babies whose lives were unjustly taken.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Overturning <\/span>Roe<\/span><\/i> is indeed a step in the right direction \u2013 but it\u2019s only the first step towards securing justice for the preborn and caring for all of those harmed by abortion. The pro-life movement is just getting started, and we have our work cut out for us, indeed. Marlene Downing with <\/span>Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America<\/span><\/a> stated it well: \u201c[T]he bandaid [has been] peeled off, exposing so many wounded women. I pray that healing begins in the most authentic way.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Author’s Note: If you are a post-abortive woman or man and are in need of help to process grief and trauma, please consult Live Action\u2019s <\/span>resources<\/span><\/a> page for a list of organizations offering assistance.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cLike\u201d Live Action News on Facebook<\/a>\u00a0for more pro-life news and commentary!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I first got the news about the overturn of Roe v. Wade, I cried non-stop for hours. Tears of joy were quickly followed by tears of bitter regret over what Roe has cost me. Because 28 years ago, a scared, 16-year-old version of me aborted a child who deserved to live in a state […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":788,"featured_media":271672,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[15,3],"tags":[5625,2219,17968,3205,2607,938,5773,144],"yoast_head":"\nPost-abortive women grieve anew in wake of Roe's reversal: 'I can't ever take it back'<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Regretful post-abortive women have been responding to Roe's reversal \u2013 and the firestorm of violence unleashed \u2013 with mixed feelings of joy and sorrow.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/post-abortive-women-grieve-roe\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta 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