You might be wondering why Clarity even offers a post-abortion recovery study. Wasn’t that a choice a woman made? What is there to recover from anyways?
The dictionary definition of recovery is “to restore to a healthier state or to repair after a loss or injury“.After leaving the abortion clinic, many women are wounded – emotionally, psychologically and spiritually. It may take years for the reality of their loss to surface and be recognized.
The wound left after an abortion can be so deep that it is difficult to process and talk about. As a result, many women try to stuff their negative emotions and memories, ignoring any heartfelt pain. They work hard to try to forget the memory of the sounds and smells of the clinic, the physical trauma experienced, and the reality of the procedure. They don’t want to accept the reality that they have lost their child. Some may turn to alcohol, drugs, and other addictions to mask the potential pain.
Most of the time a mother (and father) have never grieved because they feel no permission to do so. Therefore they live in silent pain.
There cannot be healing until they grieve their loss.
That’s where Clarity’s powerful Hearts Restored recovery study steps in. There are steps to grief, and Hearts Restored: Healing After Abortion offers a safe, confidential, and non-judgmental place to walk through those steps.
Our facilitators, many of whom once buried their painful abortion secret, recovered and found healing, will gently and compassionately walk a man or woman through the steps of grief. Recovery provides freedom from inner turmoil and desperate shame. Recovery helps participants let go of unworthiness and hopelessness. Recovery restores the heart.
For more information on how you or someone you know can receive confidential help at no cost, contact Sue at 812-567-3150 or via email. Because we know men suffer too as a result of pressuring their girlfriends or because they didn’t even know about the pregnancy until after the abortion occurred, men’s study groups are also available. Contact Don at 812-720-0802 or via email.
If you find yourself in an unexpected pregnancy, do you realize that you are the only one who can make a decision regarding if you’ll carry or abort?
Even if you’re underage, your parents cannot make this choice for you. While it is wise to get advice from people who are more mature and who love you, the choice is yours and yours alone.
It is unlawful for your parents, relatives, boyfriend, or husband to unduly pressure, force, or coerce you into having an abortion. Some examples of statements of coercion or force include the following:
“If you have this baby, I am kicking you out of my house.”
“You are grounded (or any other punishment) if you don’t have this abortion.”
Any threat or infliction of violence is unlawful.
If you are a minor, your parents don’t have to support your child, but they are legally required to continue supporting you until you have reached legal adulthood.
Concerning your partner, even if he is the father of your baby, your boyfriend or your husband, he does not have the right to make this choice. He doesn’t have any choice in the pregnancy decision at all, except what weight you choose to allow his desires to influence you.
If you choose to carry, your partner’s parental rights don’t begin until the baby is born. If you choose to parent the baby, you have the right to receive child support from the father of your child, and you may be eligible for financial or material assistance from the State and other groups.
If you are faced with an unplanned pregnancy, we at Clarity stand ready to help you navigate your way as you make decisions regarding your future.
If you need additional help in understanding or asserting your legal rights, please contact Clarity or The Justice Foundation at 210-614-7157.
“Why aren’t more women talking about the negative effects of their abortions?” “If the numbers are so high, why do I feel so alone?” These are the questions a recent Hearts Restored participant cried out during a healing support session.
About 1 out of every 3 women has had an abortion by the age of 45, yet by their silence we would never know this staggering statistic. The fear of rejection and public shame prevents many from being open, vulnerable, and honest about their past. Secrecy is the coping choice.
Society is silent about the subject of post-traumatic abortion stress. In fact, many women think they are the only one suffering the consequences. Regret and despair from the trauma can lead to addictions, numbing emotions, isolation, anger issues, strained relationships, difficulty parenting, anxiety, and more.
Many confess they truly believed that abortion was their only option at the time – parents would kick them out with no financial support, a boyfriend would leave them, or they could not afford to raise a child on their own. Spoken or unspoken pressure to choose abortion doesn’t lessen the weight of a hidden secret.
Where can a post-abortive woman turn to find safe and understanding support, or someone who cares? Is grieving allowed? Are healing and peace even possible after choosing abortion?
If you are the 1 out of 3 women hiding this secret, please know that your trauma and its effects are real. You can now choose to heal – with the hope of some freedom and peace. Hearts Restored: Healing After Abortion is a free program offered by Clarity, and available to anyone at any age.
