A woman takes the difficult decision to have an abortion for a many reasons. Those reasons are quite varied and some very personal. Abortion is the most common surgical procedure performed on females in most countries of the world.
They are easily judged for their decision not to keep their baby and in some societies, they are stigmatized. Women who’ve had an abortion sometimes feel too judged to open up and share their reasons for making that option. They are also sometimes reluctant to open up about the trauma it caused them afterward.
A research was carried out to investigate why some women opt to have an abortion. They used open-ended survey questions as their research method. The results showed that women choose abortion for many reasons, with some individuals citing several of such reasons. 40% of the women surveyed said they were not financially prepared. 36% cited bad timing, not being mentally ready to have a baby and the pregnancy being unplanned. 29% of the women said they needed to focus on their other children. 12% cited health related reasons. Another 12% said that they wanted a better life for their baby than they could provide at the time. 7% of the women said they were not independent or mature enough to become a mother. 5% of the women decided to terminate their pregnancies due to the influence from family and friends. 4% of the survey group didn’t want a baby at all and didn’t want a situation where they’d be compelled to give their baby up for adoption. A negligible percentage of the women however said they didn’t want people to know that they were sexually active or even pregnant, they were done with childbearing, or having a baby was going to dramatically change their lives. When a woman finally decides to settle for an abortion, the after experience could be quite traumatic to say the least. One thing was quite evident. Younger women were not ready for parenthood, while older women were already responsible for older children and didn’t want an extra responsibility or they were done with childbearing.
Abortion is definitely not used as a means of birth control. This is a common misconception, as most women think it is convenient or an easy way out. In truth, family obligations and concerns about future children are the strong motives behind these decisions regardless of a woman’s age, race, income earnings, parental status or educational level. This means that they have based their decisions mainly on their financial stability and time to care for their current children. These women admit it is a difficult and painful decision, but they also claim that they made their decision after careful consideration of what was right for the unborn baby. No matter how solid these reasons may be, it is a decision that stays with you forever.
There are people who oppose the rights to women having an abortion. They criticize women who have unplanned pregnancies and say they are irresponsible for not using birth control. However, there are some cases where pregnancies have occurred regardless of these women using birth control. When a woman is confronted with birth control failure, she is conflicted over what to do, especially when an abortion is against their moral or religious beliefs. There has also been a strong public debate on whether to support or ban women from having an abortion. These debates always end up in complex results and multifaceted decisions that are usually heart-wrenching for the people involved. When the argument comes up that abortion is wrong and sinful, there is usually a counter argument that having a child carelessly is also equally as sinful. The public will be better informed when we can shed more light on the reasons for abortions. So many misperceptions will also be corrected when they understand the complexity of these decisions. It will open a doorway to compassion and empathy as people who have gone through this path are in need of our support.
It is very important to understand that the post-abortive experience could be accompanied by severe trauma. For this reason, it is better not to judge them too harshly or stigmatize people who have undergone this surgical procedure. Some women were also compelled to make this decision because their babies would have never come to full term or would have been born with a congenital deformity. It is mostly hard for them to talk about, so always show compassion and empathy when dealing with them.
After an abortion, many men and women are plagued with waves of complicated thoughts and emotions. Some of them claim to have life-long feelings of guilt and regret. The Scriptures throw more light on the tragedy of abortion in Psalm 139:13-16 and Jeremiah 1:5, but God’s word also offers hope for the post-abortive. There is overflowing evidence in the bible that our past choices are no match for the long-suffering love and all-encompassing forgiveness that God has extended to us through His son, our Lord Jesus Christ. We have this confidence that if we come to God with a broken and contrite heart, He will not despise us. True repentance brings about forgiveness. Prayers offered to God can also bring healing for the pain and loss. It will also help us to leave the painful past behind and forge ahead to embrace a more positive future.
Prayer Points
- Heavenly Father, I had an abortion thinking I was making the best decision, but I have been eaten up by grief and guilt ever since and what I have done is haunting me. I feel so ashamed of myself and my heart feels so heavy that I took away a little life in this way. I am unable to think about anything else and realize more and more that what I have done is against You o Lord, that I have sinned and done this great wrong. Lord, I ask for Your forgiveness in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, amen.
- O Lord, I pray for Your healing and Your comfort. You said in Your word that that You will mend the broken-hearted and set free those who are captive and those who faces are filled with shame. You have promised to forgive and restore anyone who approaches Your throne of grace humble to confess their wrongdoing. My hope is in You o Lord, for You alone can restore the joy of my salvation. Forgive me Lord, in Jesus name I pray, amen.
- Father, Your mercies are new every morning. You are a God who forgives our sins. You have asked us to cast all our burdens upon You. Therefore, Lord, I hand over my burden to You today. I ask for the healing and restoration that only you can give. I ask for the grace to forget what is past and move on with You as my guide. I ask this in Jesus name, amen.
- O Lord, I lift before You the father of my baby. I know that I am not the only one going through this pain and emotional trauma. The father of my baby is also feeling the pain and the loss too. I know that very often, fathers are excluded from the decision to terminate a pregnancy. I pray that You comfort him Lord. In any way that he may be feeling emotionally distraught and grieving for the little life that he was denied, Lord I ask that you please comfort and heal him in Jesus name, amen.
- Lord, I know that the consequences of our wrong choices can bring much pain. I also know that You are a God who does not despise a broken and a contrite heart. You promised in Your word to blot out our transgressions and remember our sins no more. You promised to forgive our iniquities. You promised to heal every broken heart that comes before You in repentance. Forgive me o Lord and heal my life. Cleanse me with hyssop and I shall be clean. Create I me a pure heart o Lord and renew a right spirit within me.
- O Lord, thank you for paying the price for my sins through Your death on the cross. That price also covers the sin of this abortion. Lord I know that every deep wound takes much time to heal. I know You can also speed up the process by Your mighty hand to begin the healing of my broken heart. Lord, I ask that You heal my hurting soul in Jesus name, amen.
- O Lord, I know that You are the Creator of life and that every life source comes from You. I know it was wrong for me to take a life that I did not create. Lord of life, I ask for Your forgiveness for taking a life that I did not create. Great God of comfort, please comfort me in my distress and blot away my sin in Jesus name, amen.