Abortion... a Band-aid or a deeper wound?

When you have scratch on your leg and the bleeding won’t stop, what do you do? You go to the medicine cabinet and get a Band-aid to cover and protect the wound and stop the bleeding. When you are cooking and cut your hand with a knife, what do you reach for? A Band-aid, something that will cover your wound and protect it from germs, leading to infection.

                When you have an unplanned pregnancy and your heart is breaking, mind racing, what do you do? You are looking for a way to cover it up, stop the pain, and be “healed”; the phone call for an abortion comes to mind immediately. Many times abortion is seen as a quick fix, a Band-aid, a temporary solution to a bigger problem.

                When I had my abortion, I was looking forward to getting my life back to normal. I wanted to stop my unwanted pregnancy from being on my mind constantly, but my abortion experience wasn’t the quick fix that I had hoped for. I wasn’t prepared for or aware of the “triggers” that I would be experiencing for years afterwards.

                If you are considering an abortion, you have the right to know you may experience flashbacks or memories of your abortion when you see, hear, smell, or feel things that you encountered during the time of your abortion. These can come days, weeks, and years later.

According to “Ramah’s Voice,” the following are eight of the most common triggers of post-abortion pain:

1. Media mention – Hearing the word “abortion” may bring pain within the unhealed heart. Recently when I spoke the word “abortion” to a woman, immediately tears began to well up in her eyes. Just hearing the word made her weep.
2. Sounds – Examples of music that you enjoyed during that period in your life can remind you of your past abortion. This is something I still struggle with years later. Songs take me back to that time in my life. Other examples of sounds are vacuum cleaners (with a surgical abortion) or toilet flushing (with a medication abortion).
3. Anniversary dates – The date of your abortion and/or the possible due date of the unborn child can be painful triggers.
4. Pregnant women and young children – In the months following an abortion, seeing pregnant women may be a reminder of your experience.
5. Intimacy – A post-abortive woman can either experience lack of desire for intimacy or become sexually promiscuous, leading to many dysfunctional behaviors such as drug/alcohol abuse, eating disorders, etc.
6. Motherhood moments – Milestone marks that would have been reached had the pregnancy continued – like the child’s graduation from kindergarten and high school, their wedding day, etc. – can be very painful.
7. OB/GYN checkups – It can be difficult to be honest about the abortion procedure on doctor’s intake forms. A woman recently commented that it has taken her 40 years to be honest at her doctor appointment about her past abortion.
8. Political debates – When politicians share their views to enhance or diminish abortion rights, anxiety is often produced in the post-abortive woman’s heart.

So, is abortion a quick fix, a Band-aid? Or is it creating a much deeper wound that will never heal? It may be a temporary solution, but the consequences may be permanent – not only physically, but emotionally and spiritually. We at Care Net Pregnancy Resource Center of Neosho can help you walk through those consequences –

No judgment…

                                No pressure…

                                                Just listening… healing the heart.

Care Net Pregnancy Resource Center of Neosho

(417) 455-0100