We can all be guilty of downplaying the reality of abortion from time to time.
When we talk about it, and read about it day after day, even the most committed among us can become desensitised.
But then, we stumble across somthing that hits us hard, slaps us back into the reality of what we're dealing with: the procedure that takes place hundreds of times a day around our nation, 125,00 times a day, 56 million times a year around our globe.
This image comes from an old Catholic book, and was sent to me by a friend.
Unde the picture was this poem:
Yes, you had me murdered before I was born
Yet I might have been the one
The only one to care to care for you
To soothe and comfort you, my Mom.
No one can predict the future
Who knows what your sufferings may be
I won't be around to help you Mom
You hung me on the Abortion Tree.
The poem is signed M.F.D.
I found this very confronting, even though I have never had an abortion.
To me, this poem shows the irreversible nature of abortion, and the utter selfishness of the decision. Yes, mothers are frequently coerced and yes, there are often extenuating circumstances that lead to a mother to make the decision to kill her child. There is no doubt that few mothers bear all the blame for committing this terrible sin.
But this poem acknowledges a stage that women and men, after having taken the life of their child, must pass through if they ever want to find peace: that is the stage of realisation, of full knowledge of the terrible crime they have committed against life, of the great betrayal they have perpetrated against their own child.
As painful as it is, this stage is essential. For once a post-abortive parent can clearly see the depths of his or her sinfulness, then - and only then - can they beg Jesus to wash away their sins with His Precious Blood, and ask Him to replace their grief with His healing grace.
See also Abortion and Forgiveness
For 24-hour pregnancy and post-abortion counselling, please call 1300 737 732 or visit Pregnancy Counselling Australia
