Each week AFL posts an Anglicans in Action video, which gives practical suggestions, resources, and ideas for life-ministry. This week’s focus is on abortion healing resources. You can see all the Anglicans in Action videos on our YouTube Channel.
In previous episodes, I have shared about the Shockwaves of Abortion, an initiative of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign that seeks to show the wide-reaching impact of abortion on our society as a whole. But I especially wanted to bring this month’s focus group to your attention, as we are looking at abortion survivors, specifically those who survived the actual abortion procedure.
It is hard to say how many abortion survivors exist. Many children who do survive the abortion do not live for long, due to complications from the procedure or because they are simply left to perish after their premature birth. Some adults may be survivors and not even know it, because they were never told about their birth experience. Additionally, even if survivors know their birth history, it can be very difficult for them to speak publicly about their experience, as they often struggle with feeling unwanted or with on-going health issues caused by the abortion. Still, hundreds of survivors are beginning to tell their stories. And it is incredibly important for life-affirming people to listen and share them.
You see, abortion survivors bring a unique perspective into the abortion discussion. It is one thing for us to say that abortion ends a unique life—it’s quite another to hear from a survivor, who is a living witness of the truth that abortion ends the life of a real person. Gianna Jessen, abortion survivor and public speaker once said, “Today, a baby is a baby when convenient. It is tissue or otherwise when the time is not right. A baby is a baby when miscarriage takes place at two, three, four months. A baby is called tissue or clumps of cells when an abortion takes place at two, three, four months…why is that?” Gianna Jessen’s existence and witness, as well as that of other notable survivor and public speaker Melissa Ohden, defies the lie that the unborn in the womb are disposable.
Our action idea for this week is to ask you to read and share these survivor testimonies. We have a number of them on the July Shockwaves webpage. You can also read blogs and articles and learn more about healing programs for these people uniquely impacted by abortion.
These stories are important for refuting the lie that the unborn are just a clump of cells, and they can be an excellent tool for pro-life apologetics—but their stories can only impact people if we share them. Please pass them on!
