A woman who had vivid flashbacks to her abortion for years afterwards has rejected the view that abortion is empowering rather than something to regret.
Writing for the Washington Examiner, Ally Bowlin said this “subversion of right and wrong is enough to change some minds, even against our own human instincts”.
Recently on American university campuses, an organisation has been promoting its #AbortionPositive tour, and previously people have been encouraged to ‘shout their abortion’ on social media.
Not positive
Bowlin commented that this mindset is a denial of reality that continues long after the abortion itself. She described it as “denial of grief”, because the mother “doesn’t want to admit to herself there was actually a life lost”.
Discussing her own struggle after an abortion, which included guilt, a short temper and vivid replays of the day, Bowlin said she eventually sought post-abortive help.
Let them in and let them help.
She said: “To post-abortive women, I say this: Don’t feel pressured to see your abortion as positive.
“There are people out there to listen to your story. There are people out there to hear about your grief. Let them in and let them help.”
Regret is normal
Bowlin now works for a pro-life students’ group in the USA and assured other women of the possibilities of restoration.
The Christian Institute’s Choose Life series includes the story of Lynn Coles – another women who had an abortion but now helps people who are suffering.
She has said: “It’s not a religious thing to regret your abortion, it’s actually a human thing, a woman thing – because we’re not designed to take the lives of our children”.
