Over 60 million abortions have occurred in the United States since legalization in 1973. Thousands of abortions are performed each day in the U.S

When abortion ends the life of her child, a woman choosing abortion can go through stages of Post-Abortion Syndrome (relief, rationalization, repression, resentment). She may experience symptoms such as guilt, shame, anxiety, self-hate, prolonged grief, bitterness, anger, depression, emotional numbness, and suicidal thoughts. She might obsess about getting pregnant again or not want to ever get pregnant again. She can develop fears of infertility or that future children will die. She may also find it hard to bond with her own present or future children or to be near other children or pregnant women.

Abortion affects everyone involved; Many women report that they want their partner’s honest opinion. The man may question his right to have feelings or opinions about the decision to end his child’s life. When he says, “It’s your choice,” she might hear, “I don’t want this baby.” Sometimes, the man is completely shut out of the decision to abort his child. This can leave him feeling powerless and cause some of the same emotional struggles experienced by the mother.

Thankfully, abortion is not an unforgivable sin. While God dearly loves children—he knows them even before he forms them in the womb (Psalm 139:13-16)—he also deeply loves mothers and fathers who have made harmful choices. He offers forgiveness and healing to those who are brokenhearted and contrite in Spirit (Psalm 51:14-17). God can heal the wounds of abortion fully and completely.

Abortion Facts (sources: CDC, Guttmacher Institute):

• Most women make the abortion decision within 24 hours of finding out they are pregnant
• About 1 in 4 American women will have an abortion before the age of 45; Women in their 20s account for the majority of abortions
• Of post-abortive women, 47 percent have had at least one previous abortion
• Abortion disproportionately affects low-income populations: 75% of women obtaining an abortion are considered poor or low-income by federal poverty standards
• Less than 1 % of abortions are for pregnancies caused by rape or incest
• Most post-abortive individuals try to keep the abortion secret, fearing judgment and rejection

Biblical Insights:

The Bible is clear that life begins at conception; abortion takes the life of a living human being designed uniquely by God to bear His image. It is God who forms humans in the womb.

“For you [God] formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” (Psalm 139:13-16)

“Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: ‘I am the Lord, who made all things…’” (Isaiah 44:2)

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27)

What has been done to your body and what you do with your body matters to God. God can redeem sin against your body (by others or yourself). Abortion affects more than a mother’s body; the baby and father are affected too. A harm suffered or an inconvenient life does not justify a harmful response.

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” (2 Corinthians 5:10)

“…for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:20)

Abortion is not an unforgivable sin. Christ died to pay the penalty for all sin—even abortion. He offers forgiveness to anyone who, by faith, will receive his payment for sin as their own. Those who trust in Christ are forgiven, not cursed, redeemed, not condemned.

“To [Christ] all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” (Acts 10:43)

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)

God wants to heal the pain caused by abortion. God offers healing and forgiveness to every human heart. There is a way to be right with God and recover from your wounds.

"The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18)

“For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.” (Psalm 32:3-5)

God loves you and is pursuing you; He has a purpose and a calling for you. Regardless of the number of abortions you have had, God still wants a relationship with you. He wants to heal your past. You can still live in the purpose that he planned for you when he created you. God has a future for you.

“He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:10-12)

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)

Next Steps

• If you do not yet have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, check out How Freedom Can Begin Today.
• If you have unconfessed sin, admit it to yourself, confess it to God and to someone whom you trust. (Psalm 32, James 5:16)
• Don’t wait any longer to deal with the wounds of abortion. God wants to help you grieve the loss of your child in a healthy way (2 Corinthians 7:10). Enter an abortion-specific recovery group (see additional resources below) or begin to address your abortion in a re:generation
• Begin to read stories of hope and study some of the resources listed below.
• Find a bible-teaching church and begin to establish relationships with healthy Christians who can help you find forgiveness and healing through a personal relationship with Jesus. (Romans 8:35-38)

Additional Resources

• Watch stories of hope from Colby, Kristin, and many others
• Check out Fear and Wonder: Life Matters from The Porch at Watermark Community Church
• Look into a care ministry: Worth More, Ramah International, and Her Choice to Heal
• Read:
  • Her Choice to Heal: Finding Spiritual and Emotional Peace After Abortion by Sydna Masse
  • Healing a Father’s Heart - A Post Abortion Bible Study for Men by Linda Cochrane and Kathy Jones