Abortion 101 Abortion is the leading cause of death in America today.

Heart disease kills over 750,000 people a year; however, since the legalization of abortion on January 22, 1973, over a million persons a year have lost their lives to the abortion choice. Even past wars and national breaches of security pale in comparison to the destructive force for harm of abortion in our culture. Every year more unborn children die from abortion than Americans died in the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World Ward 1 and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Persian Gulf Wars combined. A more recent word picture would be to imagine all those lost in the World Trade Center holocaust. A loss of this magnitude occurs every single day, day in and day out, in abortion clinics throughout our land. Abortion is the most common elective surgery in the United States. Even though it is the most performed surgery, it is also the most unregulated medical procedure. Veterinarian clinics have more regulations than abortion clinics. In most states, minors may obtain abortions without parental consent, even though they must get their parent's permission to take an aspirin. In fact, many schools offer free transportation to abortion clinics so girls can get abortions. General population polls show that most Americans believe that abortions are performed mostly because of medical reasons or in cases of rape. On the contrary, statistics show that these instances reflect only 2% of abortions. 98% of abortions are performed for non-medical reasons. In other words, abortion has become a form of birth control for our nation. Abortion is legal up to and including all nine months of pregnancy. Many people think that abortions are only performed up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. There are more than 170,000 documented second and third trimester abortions each year. More than 18,500 documented abortions occur after the fifth month (20 weeks) of pregnancy. (Partial birth abortions) Given the fact that many babies born after 21 weeks of pregnancy are considered viable births (able to live on their own outside the womb), partial birth abortion has become a gruesome "medical procedure" in our culture. Additionally, in all states, the unborn baby's father has no right to stop the abortion, nor does a wife have to tell her husband she is having an abortion. Do Christians Have Abortions? The post-abortive are the largest demographic in our culture. An estimated 43% of women will have at least 1 abortion by the time they are 45 years old. In contrast, only one to three percent of the population could be considered exclusively homosexual. While you would think that the gay community is the largest people group in our culture, the post-abortive are really one of the largest subsets of people of our times. Unfortunately, the Evangelical Christian community has not escaped the abortion choice.

According to one George Barna survey, at least one in six women sitting in Evangelical Christian churches have had abortions. Over 200,000 or 18% of Christians each year choose abortion as the answer to an unplanned pregnancy. In fact, many Christian parents, including members of the clergy, take their children for abortions to avoid the shame and disgrace that an unplanned pregnancy might bring their family. Abortion has caused a lot of grief to believers. God's people are not exempt from the pain of the aftermath of an abortion decision. Unplanned pregnancies and abortion are symptoms that even those who struggle with "living apart" from the world and all the temptations it has to "offer us." What is the most abortion-vulnerable age group? Many people believe that teenagers are the ones getting abortions. Actually, the most abortion-vulnerable age group is the woman aged 19-24 or the college age woman. Think about it. You do not see pregnant women on college campuses very often. Pregnancy among those attending college has shameful connotations. An unplanned pregnancy in the life of a college-age student means a "death of dreams" for them. Generally, there is a lot of pressure from parents to finish college. Even the students have already set their career goals and rather than setting their dreams aside, the baby is chosen as the problem that must go in order to complete their schooling. The reasoning is, "there is plenty of time to be pregnant and have babies. For now I must complete my goal of finishing college." Why do women choose abortion? The abortion choice seems to cross all barriers of race, religion and economic groups. The statistical gathering arm of Planned Parenthood reports the following reasons women choose abortion. The number one reason for having an abortion is inadequate finances. The next reason was that the mother "was not ready" for the responsibility of parenting. Other reasons in order they reported are the woman's life would change too much if she was a parent, the girl is unmarried, the girl is too young, the woman has all the children she wants and in 1% of the cases, the woman was raped. As we look at the list of reasons women have abortions, it is easy to see that every reason given is surrounded by the Biblical root of sin. The sin of selfishness (my life would change too much, I'm not ready, I already have all the children I want), perhaps the sin of anger, as in cases of rape, and even the sin of fear (I don't want people to make fun of my child if it is deformed). Another important fear is that of disappointment. College-age men and women (the most abortion-vulnerable group) don't want to disappoint themselves or their parents. Unplanned pregnancies are about a "loss of dreams." Abortion seems to be the quick fix that prevents a loss of goals and dreams. Because abortion is legal, women and men (yes, as mentioned before over 200,000

Christian women) in our culture have bought into the lie that they can "pick the excuse they want" to avoid an unplanned pregnancy. Proverbs was right. "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." (Proverbs 14:12). Legally, abortion may seem like an innocent choice, a mere lunch hour procedure in fact. In the end, it will "lead to death" not only for the child, but for the child's parents also as they deal with the after-affects of the abortion choice. Each reason given for abortion is really about following what "self" wants instead of what God commands. Suffering in silence The mindset "it's legal, so it must be right" is part of the cultural view of abortion. Yet, no matter how legal it gets, abortion is still a shameful secret that many Believers are carrying around deep inside their hearts. The post-abortive have extreme guilt and shame over their abortion. They have a fear of being "found out" by others in their churches. Many remain emotionally detached from their church and others "church hop" as a survival method of preventing their abortion from being found out. Even though abortion is legal, it is still a very volatile moral issue. Most people who have participated in an abortion choice keep it hidden for many years. The average time for facing an abortion is 7-10 years after the fact. Before this time, the post-abortive stuff-down the pain they feel because they have no place to go for help. Additionally, since abortion is legal there is an implication that "it is right." A mindset like this makes it appear that one "has no right" to feel bad about an abortion. Staying in "the land of denial" prevents the post-abortive from feeling the overwhelming emotional pain an abortion choice causes. Keeping the pain stuffed down inside requires an incredible amount of emotional energy and plunges the post-abortive person in a silent prison. Double Denial There seems to be a real disconnect in our churches concerning the destructive force of abortion among our believing members. In talking with a pastor of a rather large church recently, a post-abortion counselor gave this account: "He was adamant that no one in his congregation had ever had an abortion. I assured him that among his 3,000 members, if half of his congregation were women that at least 170 women among his parishioners were suffering from a past abortion. My pastor, sadly, refused to accept this information from me." Pastor after pastor who attends post-abortion training meetings are "shocked" and "appalled" at the news of facts, figures and statistics concerning abortion in the Body of Christ. Many ask, "Why aren't we getting this information in seminary?"

Pastors probably aren't informed about abortion and its destruction partly as a matter of ignorance on the subject. Additionally, the media would like us to believe that abortion is a political agenda, not a moral issue. Unfortunately, many Believers are accepting the values the world is offering, instead of applying Biblical concepts to cultural mores. Christians deny their pain and the shepherds of our sheep are not trained or informed enough to help the growing number of Believers suffering from an abortion decision. Again, many pastors do not recognize that post-abortion is even a problem in their congregations. Deep Damage The list of emotional and mental health consequences of abortion is extensive. Mental health providers are treating an increasing number of women suffering mental and emotional difficulties directly resulting from induced abortions. According to a January 2002 report from the British Medical Journal, women who abort a first pregnancy are at greater risk of long-term clinical depression than women who carry an unintended pregnancy full term. This research shows that women who experienced a prior abortion were at a four to six-fold-increased risk of suicide and substance abuse. According to another study as many as 60 percent of women having an abortion experience some sort of emotional distress afterwards and 30 percent suffer severe distress. Here is a listing of some of the emotional consequences of abortion: depression, anxiety attacks, suicidal tendencies, sexual dysfunction, promiscuity, low self-esteem, fits of rage, eating disorders, difficulty bonding with subsequent children, nightmares and flashbacks, numbing of emotions, difficulty falling asleep, guilt, anxiety, avoidance behaviors, psychological numbing, depression and sad moods, sudden and uncontrollable crying episodes, deterioration of self-concept, loss of normal sources of pleasure, thoughts of suicide, reexperiencing the abortion, pre-occupation with pregnancy, fertility issues, inability to bond, selfdestructive behaviors and anniversary reactions. While society would like us to believe that the abortion choice is the same for women as the right to vote and the right to free speech, examining these consequences of abortion makes us question if it is a good choice for women. The permanency of the abortion decision does cause women--and men, harm. The fact is, after an abortion, Christian women and men find themselves coping with feelings they did not expect. These unresolved feelings can create emotional conflict and a wide variety of deep damage to our church members and believers on the outside who are disconnected from the church for fear of discovery of their abortion. Understanding abortion is important It is very important for pastors, lay counselors, and other staff members understand the destruction abortion causes to women, men, grandparents, and future families.

Many pastors and other church staff find themselves in the difficult place of ministering to either a post-abortive woman or man, or grandparent. In addition, parents of a teen may walk into their office looking for help in an unplanned pregnancy situation. Counseling post-abortion and life issues is a very specialized area of ministry. By the time the person seeking help has gathered enough courage to come to their pastor, it is likely that they are suffering from several emotional challenges. In general, the aftermath of abortion spills over into several area of life, causing the post-abortive person to be dealing with multiple issues all at the same time. Post-abortion syndrome can be the root cause of more obvious symptoms like eating disorders, destructive lifestyles and abusive relationships. Helpers who are not familiar with postabortion might not realize that a past abortion is the root cause that needs to be addressed, instead of another surface indication of pain. Couples who seem to have unresolved differences are oftentimes sharing an abortion experience. Pastors need to recognize the destruction abortion causes upon relationships so that in his counseling he can get to the root cause of some marriage problems. 90% of couples who share an abortion experience break up. Anyone involved in an abortion decision may need help because abortion has a rippleaffect. It influences whoever helped make the decision--mothers, fathers, grandparents, or even friend driving a person to a clinic for an abortion. Post-abortion has now permeated our culture so much that it is imperative pastors, counselors, and lay helpers understand what a destructive force abortion has been to the believers in our midst. General information about abortion: o 18% or one in six Evangelical Christians have had abortions. o Abortion is the leading cause of death in America, before heart disease, the recognized medical reason for death. o Over a million deaths a years occur in abortion clinics. o Abortion is legal in all states for all nine months of pregnancy. o Only 1% of abortions are for cases of rape. o In most states, minors can obtain abortions with parental consent or knowledge. o Abortion is the most common elective surgery in the United States. o Abortion it the most unregulated medical procedure, less so than veterinarian clinics. o 98% of abortions are a form of birth control.

o The 19-24 age group is the most abortion-vulnerable. o Women who have had abortions have a 4-6 fold increased risk of suicide and substance abuse. o Women who have abortions have a 50% increased risk of breast cancer. o Women who have abortions experience up to 37 different emotional challenges. o 90% of couples who share an abortion will break up.

http://www.mdivs.edu/lifeissuescounseling.html http://www.missingpieces.org/