Considering Abortion or Already Had One?

 

 
 
Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your children might live. Deuteronomy 30:19
 
If you're pregnant and considering abortion, I have one response - DON'T DO IT.  It's not a blob of tissue, that's a life, a baby, that you're carrying. There are other options besides abortion, including adoption or letting a family member care for the child. Can't afford to have a baby? Pregnancy centers can help with referrals to get diapers and clothes. Your state can help you get Medicaid to cover medical costs.
 

For help call

CareNet at 1-800-345-HELP

 
Already had an abortion? There is healing for broken hearts and lives after abortion, through the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ. His work at the cross of Calvary removes all shame, bitterness, self hatred and sin, if we only believe and receive Him in our hearts.
 

For help call

The National Helpline for Abortion Recovery 1-866-482-LIFE

 
Don't ever rush to make important decisions. Pray. Ask for help. You may feel alone, but you ARE NOT.

Father, I pray that You reveal yourself to Your children. You are a good Father and I pray that You help Your children to be a good parent as well. Help all to choose LIFE. Impart wisdom. Lead. Guide. In Jesus' name, amen.

ProLife without Exception

This is a video of testimony from those who have been directly affected by pregnancy due to rape or incest, fetal deformity, or threats to the life of the mother. It includes my own personal testimony (I’m the second person interviewed and my story is in several different sections throughout the video).

Juda Myers (Choices4Life) and Keith Humphrey (ProLife without Exception) worked together on this video. Juda commented regarding the video, 'This video is only a very small percentage of the multitudes of stories in our society. Most are silent, but hopefully as others see the courage and truth of these stories they too will give back the shame to the rapists. Women and children of rape conception NEVER should be (made to) carry that shame. Society must give us justice. The rapists are the criminals.'

Father, I pray that You minister to the heart of each person as they listen to our stories. May there be healing and restoration that takes place. In Jesus' name, amen.

Effects of Abortion

My Testimony

In 1983, in Houston, Texas, I was 15 years old in the 10th grade in high school. After being forced into sexual intercourse with my boyfriend, I realized after a few weeks that I became pregnant. The boyfriend and I had already broken up from the relationship.

 

I went to Planned Parenthood to get a 'free' pregnancy test to confirm that I was pregnant. They told me that at this stage of only 5 weeks of pregnancy, 'it' was only a blob of tissue. They also suggested that I could have an abortion, since I was so young and still in school.

 

After speaking with my sister and several friends at school, I decided to have an abortion, since everybody told me that it was really 'no big deal, people do it all the time, especially since you're still in school'. I was thinking how terrible it would be to try to go to school pregnant, like others I had seen.

 

I was covered with shame and guilt, even before the abortion took place. When I told my ex boyfriend that I was pregnant and needed money for an abortion, he denied that he was the father, which deepened my shame.

 

Around Oct. 1983, my Mom and sister took me to an abortion facility - my Mom had overheard me talking on the phone to my sister about being pregnant. My Mom, like me, knew absolutely nothing of what an abortion actually did to a baby or the woman.

 

Emotionally, I spiraled into a very destructive behavior of drugs, alcohol and promiscuous sex almost immediately following the abortion. I was completely spiritually void, rebelling against my Christian upbringing. I also became emotionally numb, with not much regard for living at all. As I was going through the motions, trying to fill this huge void within me, I attached myself to an abusive relationship less than a year after the abortion.

 

My Dad was an evangelist, so I was too fearful to ever tell him about the abortion, until almost 20 years later. When I told him, he was devastated that he had lost a grandchild. I married the man that was already abusing me, as a result of extremely low self esteem. I attempted suicide as a result of recurring depression.

 

The abortion ruined all chances of having children. I suffered 5 miscarriages during my marriage of 18 years, which resulted in divorce. Three of these miscarriages were tubal pregnancies, requiring emergency surgery and very near death experiences. I so wanted an 'atonement' baby to make up for the one I killed.

 

Abortion was the most selfish decision I ever made in my whole life. It affected everyone in my life and caused devastation to my mind, soul and body.

 

There is healing for broken hearts and lives after abortion, through the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ. His work at the cross of Calvary removes all shame, bitterness, self hatred and sin, if we only believe and receive Him in our hearts.

I pray that anyone reading this testimony, that is considering abortion for their self

or someone else, would consider seeking help through a pregnancy care center

that will share the truth in love about all of your options by calling:

 

CareNet

1-800-345-HELP

 

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I pray also that anyone reading this testimony that has suffered the experiences

of abortion for yourself or a loved one would seek immediate help by calling:

The National Helpline for Abortion Recovery

1-866-482-LIFE

 

 

 

Empty Arms?

 

 

I am sharing this for all women who, like me, have never had the opportunity to hold their own baby in their arms.

Having empty arms can be a result of infertility (like me), still born babies, babies that have been lost due to SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), and many other reasons.

First, I will share a little of my own experience:

As a result of an abortion at age 15 I have suffered 5 miscarriages, with 3 of them being tubal pregnancies requiring emergency surgery, and also very near death experiences for me. Therefore, I am now unable to have any children of my own. Although the loss of my children happened several years ago, there is still much pain there that the Lord continues to heal.

Empty Arms Syndrome is basically a void, a hole or an emptiness that gnaws at your heart after the loss of a child. The empty arms of a woman desires a child almost more than life itself.

There are several ways that Jesus has used to help me with experiencing "empty arms syndrome", though even to this day going to baby showers, walking through the baby department in the stores and going to church on Mother's Day is very difficult to do.

1. When I completed going through an abortion recovery group* and Bible study, I felt led to give back by helping others receive healing also. As a group leader in the recovery group, the Lord brings a deeper healing for myself each time I go through with others. At the end of the 12 week recovery group is a memorial service, where we honor the babies that have been lost to abortion. I decided during one of our memorial services to also honor the babies that I had lost to miscarriage as a result of the abortion. It was so very healing for me to be able to give my babies their names and hold a handmade doll in my arms and lay them at the foot of the cross. At the memorial service we allow the women to choose a handmade doll to represent each baby lost to abortion. Having something in your arms to lay down at the cross is such healing to our hearts, it is hard to put into words. This experience brings much honor and closure to the loss of those babies that most people don't even acknowledge ever existed. Just because they were never brought into this world doesn't mean that they didn't exist. When a baby is living inside a mother's womb, it has as much life as a baby living outside a mother's womb.

2. One of my friends who had just had a baby was letting me hold it when she said "getting your baby fix, huh Nona?" This was quite a revelation for me because I didn't realize that was what I was doing, but it was. It is hard to describe the awesome feeling of being able to hold an infant in your arms when you have never had the opportunity to have your own. It is very comforting and peaceful. So, obviously holding and caring for, or even babysitting other people's babies is a good way to fill in the empty arms. It does help a lot, although I do remember one of the first times I held a baby years after my abortion, I started crying. It was just automatic, I didn't expect it at all. I had several opportunities to babysit a loved one's babies, and it was such a blessing.

3. Another way the Lord has used babies for further healing of my own heart is He led me one year to volunteer in the nursery at church during a revival we were having. I think I may have done that for a year. This work was so very rewarding for me in so many ways. I actually experienced a miscarriage during the time that I was serving in the nursery. You would be amazed how much strength the Lord can give you to go through something like that. I even was required to work in a baby department at one of my jobs, which was very strangely comforting for me at the time.

4. I have also always been a big fan of stuffed animals. One of the books that I have read on "empty arms" says that it is good to have a teddy bear or some other stuffed animal in your home to hold onto when your arms are aching for holding a baby. It sounds silly, but it really works.

5. One of the most recent ways that the Lord is helping me overcome my childlessness is He has blessed me and my roommate with a dog to raise together. I have always been a cat person in the past, so this is the first time I have ever raised a dog. Huge difference, since cats pretty much take care of themselves. Raising a dog, to me, is just like raising a child in so many ways. It is a very huge responsibility. Dogs love you unconditionally, just like children do. Now I understand why people call their dogs their babies, because they are. Some people even put clothes on them. I understand now, it’s just amazing, how God has brought so much healing to my heart through this loving creature He created. I always wanted a son, now I have a canine one.

6. Here are some great books that I have read on "empty arms":

"I'll Hold You In Heaven" by Jack Hayford       "Empty Arms" by Pam Vredevelt

7. This is a link where you can read a precious chapter in the Bible that the Lord wrote specifically for women who are childless: http://www.eaglesrestoration.com/MessageforHurtingWomen

8. I also had the opportunity to have a nameplate placed on the wall of names at the National Memorial for the Unborn (http://www.memorialfortheunborn.org/) in memory of my child who was aborted, as well as having a brick placed in the prayer garden there for my babies who were lost to miscarriage.

 

 

     

 

 

                

 

 

 

 

 

                  * To find an abortion recovery group in your area

       call the National Helpline for Abortion Recovery at 1-866-482-LIFE

                                                             or

                  visit their website at http://www.nationalhelpline.org/

 

This is Not Your Only Choice

Every day in America women are forced into abortions against their will. They are subjected to unrelenting psychological pressure, threats, blackmail, verbal abuse and physical violence...until they "choose" to have their own babies aborted.

The following blog is taken from the booklet "This Is Not Your Only Choice", written by Human Life Alliance.

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(Abortion Isn’t the Answer)

I was raped and got pregnant. Nobody told me the abortion would hurt more emotionally than the rape. — Maya

I realized the child in my womb didn’t deserve to die because of the crime of her father.

In a study of pregnant rape victims, Dr. Sandra Mahkorn found that 75 to 85 percent chose against abortion. Joan Kemp, a rape crisis center counselor, said, “I am familiar with no case of incest-related abortion that did not make matters worse for the victim.” Studies also show that incest victims rarely ever voluntarily agree to abortion. Instead of viewing the pregnancy as unwanted, the incest victim is more likely to see the pregnancy as a way out of the incestuous relationship because the birth of her child will expose the sexual activity.

If You are Raped:

•• Don’t blame yourself; it’s not your fault.

•• Don’t shower. It could wash away important evidence.

•• Go immediately to the hospital and report the
crime to the authorities.

•• You may be offered emergency contraception, but be

aware that if fertilization has occurred, emergency

contraception may cause an abortion.

•• Get in touch with a support group that specializes
in helping rape victims.

•• Many attackers count on the silence of their victims.

Empower yourself by revealing your attacker and going

through the entire legal process. It is so important that you

report the rape! It may be difficult, but do it for yourself,

and do it so that no one else has to experience the same

trauma you went through.

Researchers David C. Reardon, Julie Makimaa, and Amy Sobie completed a nine-year study on pregnancy outcomes of sexual assault victims. As part of their research the authors found that after any abortion, it is common for women to experience guilt, depression, feelings of being “dirty,” resentment of men, and lowered self-esteem.

These feelings are identical to what women typically feel after rape.

Abortion only adds to and accentuates the traumatic feelings associated with sexual assault. Rather than easing the psychological burdens, abortion adds to them.

   SCARED?

  (Don’t Give up Hope...)
       PREGNANCY RESOURCE CENTERS

Option Line - 24 hour

(English and Spanish)

1-800-712-HELP (4357)

http://www.optionline.org/

Pregnancy Hot Line - 24 hour

1-800-848-LOVE (5683)

http://www.nationallifecenter.com/

Birthright - 24 hour

1-800-550-4900

http://www.birthright.org/

Pregnancy Decision Line - 24 hour

1-800-395-HELP (4357)

http://www.pregnancydecisionline.org/

                                             
      YOU HAVE RIGHTS
(No One Can Legally Force a Woman to Have an Abortion)

               For more information, go to the Center Against Forced Abortions (CAFA) at

                                                     http://www.thejusticefoundation.org/
                            You may also call The Justice Foundation toll-free at 1-866-468-8279.



IF YOU HAVE ALREADY HAD AN ABORTION

(Experiencing Regret? Depression? Suicidal Thoughts?)

                                                                   National Helpline for Abortion

                                                                         Recovery – 24 hour

1-866-482-LIFE (5433)

http://www.nationalhelpline.org/

Abortion Recovery InterNational

www.abortionrecovery.org

              

ABORTION HURTS WOMEN

My name is Nona Ellington.


Thank you for the honor of sharing my personal testimony with you of how abortion hurt me.




When I was 13 years old, I was raped by a family member, who stole my virginity. After that experience, I was covered with shame and low self esteem. At 15 years old, I began dating a boy at high school who was quite popular, and I would hang out with him to smoke marijuana. He took me to his cousin's house one day after school and forced me into having sex before I even knew what was happening. I didn't realize at the time that it was "date rape". Shortly after that event, he broke up with me and then I realized I was pregnant. My shame was deepened when the ex boyfriend denied that the baby was his.

My sister, several friends and Planned Parenthood coerced me into having an abortion, giving me no other options, telling me it is what I needed to do since I was so young and still in high school.

After the abortion, I spiraled into very destructive behavior, more drugs, alcohol and promiscuous sex to fill the empty void. This led to getting married to a very abusive man for 18 years. I also attempted suicide by cutting myself during a time of severe depression.

During the marriage, as a result of the abortion, I had 5 miscarriages, 3 of them tubal pregnancies which required emergency surgery and very near death experiences. I have never been able to have children, as a result of the abortion at age 15.

Finally, after several years of hurting, I attended an abortion recovery Bible study, where I received healing and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. I also learned through Jesus how to forgive myself. I was able to honor my baby lost to abortion and also those I miscarried, as a result, in a memorial service. Soon after, I had the honor of leading others through the healing process and also the opportunity to help women in the state prison find healing after abortion.

Thank you again for the opportunity to share my heart with you about how abortion affected my life. May God bless each and every one of you!