Editor's note: This article is a Pregnancy Help News original. Kevin Burke, LSW, is a pastoral associate of Priests for Life and co-founder of Rachel’s Vineyard. An expert on men and abortion loss, he is the author of Tears of the Fisherman and co-author of Rivers of Blood/Oceans of Mercy. Theresa Burke, Ph.D., is the founder of Rachel’s Vineyard and a pastoral associate of Priests for Life. She is the co-author of Forbidden Grief and Rivers of Blood, Oceans of Mercy. Heartbeat International manages the Abortion Pill Rescue® Network (APRN) and Pregnancy Help News. More abortion recovery resources are available HERE.
For those who have suffered the loss of a child to abortion, this day is one of great joy, but also one of deep grief. The end of Roe will bring a fresh awareness to millions of women and men regarding the shockwaves which Roe unleashed across our nation in 1973.
The end of Roe, and the public response to this historical event, will lead many to remember their past participation in abortion, and experience feelings and memories suppressed for many years.
As the largest ministry in the world for emotional and spiritual healing after abortion, we have listened to thousands of women and men share their abortion stories.
In so many cases, the social sanctioning of the abortion procedure by the Supreme Court in 1973 as a legal, personal health care choice, was a powerful influence for many women and men in their decision to end the life of their preborn son or daughter.
This only added to the sense of disillusionment and betrayal when they discovered how deeply this procedure damaged them physically, emotionally and spiritually. But also, how those symptoms of anxiety, depression, and substance abuse impacted the lives of those they loved.
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With the death of Roe, we can begin a time of healing for all those who were directly involved in the abortion of a preborn child, or who have experienced multiple abortions.
The work of education and healing will be especially important on the local and state level, as the abortion issue returns to the states, and with the continued rise of chemical abortion, which poses an increased risk for emotional and physical trauma.
We encourage Rachel’s Vineyard alumni across our nation to respond to today’s news with a renewed commitment to defend the life of children in the womb in your community, and share the good news of healing for anyone who has participated in abortion.
Tweet This: Let us begin a time of national healing from abortion with the death of Roe.
Michelle Goldberg writes in the New York Times that the end of Roe is going to, “Tear America Apart.” This excerpt from the Supreme Court draft by Justice Samuel Alito reveals that what is tearing our country apart is not the death of Roe, but the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision itself:
“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe … enflamed debate and deepened division.”
Abortion intimately wounds women, men, relationships, and families. The failure to acknowledge and heal these wounds has contributed to the poisoning of our national discourse, and the divisions within our great Republic.
Let us begin a time of national healing.
Rachel’s Vineyard welcomes any woman or man who has lost a child, or children to abortion, or who was associated directly with that decision, and is in need of reconciliation and healing. You will find acceptance, love, and expert assistance to work through your painful feelings and memories, and find emotional and spiritual healing, reconciliation and peace.
