My name is
Sadie. And like the other correspondents
for the STAR, I have my own particular loss
experience. It is an especially sensitive topic due
to the controversy surrounding it, politically,
morally, and spiritually. Nevertheless, it is a
great source of pain to me and millions of other
women and men. Sadly, too often we are silent and
isolated in our suffering because of this
controversy. We fear judgement from friends, family
and society because they view it as something we
chose to do and therefore have no right to the
grieving process.
You see, my loss is from abortion. The very word
strikes horror and revulsion in the hearts and minds
of some while others have defined it as no more than
a choice on the menu. Even the medical profession
has denied over and over the physical and emotional
ramifications of abortion, leaving those of us who
have exercised our "right" to flounder in the
shadows of guilt, depression, shame and other
serious emotional difficulties that are part of the
Post-Abortion Stress Syndrome (P.A.S.S.).
I want to urge you, the reader, to invite anyone you
know who may be struggling with the pain of this
loss to our pages so that they can learn more about
this very real trauma and be assured that they are
NOT alone. There IS support for them during this
extremely difficult time, and I am here to point
them in the direction of HOPE and HEALING.
Additionally, I would request that those who are not
suffering will take this information to heart in
order that you may become an effective support for
those who are in pain.
It is important for you to know that we will not be
debating the political controversy on this issue in
this forum. I am certain that there are outlets for
your personal opinions and beliefs on this topic and
I urge you to utilize them to make your views known.
But this column will be dedicated solely to the
support and healing of those individuals who are
suffering the pain of the post-abortion experience.
They need to know that they can come to us without
fear of reprisal or judgmental commentary. It is
only through total acceptance of the person that we
can hope to make a difference in their lives.
Since those we seek to help will come from a wide
variety of backgrounds, beliefs and values, we need
to be prepared to accept them just as they are.
Without that unconditional acceptance, they may
never receive our message of HOPE because of their
fear of rejection. Please join me in welcoming them
with the open arms of LOVE. My desire is that we be
a lighthouse in the darkness of the despair of their
pain.
I believe that if healing is to be complete, we must
achieve it in all three dimensions of the human
condition. All of us embody the physical, the
emotional and the spiritual. These three areas must
be addressed in order for healing and restoration to
be complete. The physical and the emotional are more
easily addressed. The spiritual facet is more
sensitive due to the diversity of spiritual beliefs
that people hold. With this fact in mind we will
address the physical and emotional issues separately
so that if they wish not to be involved in the
spiritual aspect of the healing process, they will
have had the opportunity to gain some insight into
aspects of their healing that is common to everyone
who is in the post-abortion experience.
As a Christian woman, I feel strongly that spiritual
healing is as important to the process as are the
physical and emotional aspects. However, for those
who may be uncomfortable with the spiritual aspect
of healing, I will post advance notice when
spiritual issues are to be addressed by this forum.
That way they will not stay away because their
belief system is not in agreement with our
discussion. It is also my hope that those who are
genuinely seeking in the area of spirituality, will
read this column with the possibility of finding
some answers to their spiritual quest.
I would like to echo the sentiment of Shani, a
fellow correspondent, that, as we approach the
holidays, we all recognize the difficulty that those
of us who are grieving experience at this time of
the year. Please read her suggestions and tips for
surviving the holidays in the November issue of the
STAR. It can be viewed in the archives of previous
issues. I wish for all of you a very Joyous Holiday
Season.
Future installments of this column will include
background material on abortion, statistics,
identifying the victims of the abortion experience
and the various physical and emotional ramifications
of abortion. I hope that together we can shed the
light of TRUTH into the darkness of this terrible
loss. I speak from experience when I say that
allowing the light of truth to shine into the
shadowy places of my pain has allowed me to begin
the healing process and is helping me toward
resolution of this pain. I will not take up space
here to tell you my own story, but would invite you
to read my story at my site. The address is below my
column, where in the future you will find links to
other support pages, networks that are available to
those in need. They will include reading material on
the WWW, books, 800 numbers where you can talk to
someone who will listen in love, stories from
abortion survivors, and Memorial pages dedicated to
those unborn whose memory is with us always.
I hope you will all join me in the quest for
F.A.I.T.H. (Finding An Inner Peace Through Healing)
Please visit our Website to find out more about our
group, its purpose and what we offer. Thank you for
allowing me to contribute. I look forward to growing
together in LOVE and HOPE.
"...AND NOW ABIDES FAITH HOPE LOVE...THESE THREE,
BUT THE GREATEST OF THESE IS LOVE."
I Corinthians 13:13
Sadie
