Dismantling the Myths of Abortion

TRANS: Yet - even though people may agree with this, they may still choose to abort an unexpected baby, due to their belief in abortion myth #2.

2. Myth #2 - Abortion will solve the problem.

Truth #2 - Abortion causes more problems than it solves.
Health risks:
Breast cancer: A 1994 study in the Journal of the national Cancer Institute found: "Among women who had been pregnant at least once, the risk of breast cancer in those who had experienced an induced abortion was 50% higher than among other women."

Effects on future pregnancies: scarring or other injuries during an abortion may prevent or place at risk future pregnancies. The risk of miscarriage is greater for women who abort their first baby.

Emotional Impact:
Mothers: Post-Abortion Stress (PAS):
guilt
anger
anxiety
depression
suicidal thoughts
anniversary grief
flashbacks of abortion
sexual dysfunction
relationship problems
eating disorders
alcohol and drug abuse

Fathers and extended family:
anger over powerlessness
guilt over having pressured woman to have an abortion
ongoing feelings of loss

Spiritual Consequences:
Fear of heaven. This stems from the idea that their aborted child is somehow standing next to God and pointing a finger of retribution down toward her.

Works-based Christianity. Some women, in an effort to pay off the debt they feel to God and to their aborted child, overcommit themselves to church service. "If only I serve faithfully, maybe God will accept me," they think.

Guilt and feelings of shame create a feeling of distance between women who choose abortion and God. This makes it harder to come to God and experience the forgiveness He offers.

TRANS: This leads to the 3rd myth of abortion...

3. Myth #3 - Abortion is unforgivable.
Truth #3 - Abortion is covered by Jesus’ blood.

Once upon a time there was a man who traveled town to town, tearing fathers from mothers and parents from children, sending them to jail, and even presiding over their executions - all in what he later discovered was misdirected spiritual zeal. The guilt this man must have felt as he remembered scenes in his past of standing watching men and women being killed by a mob of people throwing stones at them must have been intense. But this man discovered that, though his guilt was great, God’s mercy is greater!

1 Timothy 1:15-16 (NLT)
This is a true saying, and everyone should believe it: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--and I was the worst of them all. But that is why God had mercy on me, so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.

This same man wrote the famous words of Romans 8:1 -

Romans 8:1 (NIV)
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus...

If you are one of those whose hearts has been broken by abortion I want to say two things to you right now.
1. There is nothing God wants more than to help you feel His forgiveness. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us of all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9

2. The path to experiencing that forgiveness is not easy, but there is help along the way.

Post-abortion counseling, such as that offered at the Pregnancy Care Clinic