"How many other people go off the rails after an abortion?"
By Focus on the Family NZ
Marina Young runs a New Zealand post-aboriton healing ministry called the Buttons Project.
The Buttons Project helps people to address post-abortion grief by submitting a button, which is kept by Marina as a permanent and tangible memorial of the life of that unborn child whose life was ended by an abortion.
Many of the buttons that Marina receives are accompanied by letters of explanation, and in this blog post we have been given permission to republish a heartfelt letter that was recently sent to Marina, along with a button, by a man who is currently serving time in prison.
It serves as a powerful reminder of the way in which abortion hurts both women and men, and the fact that this harm can go well beyond just a secret interior brokenness and shame.
When someone claims that 'abortion is purely a matter between a woman and her doctor', not only are they forgetting the unborn child, but also the child's father, and the other family and friends close to that couple who will be impacted the situation.
For us here at Focus on the Family NZ, this letter is a sad yet hopeful reminder of why it is so important for us to remain active in the pro-life work that forms an integral part of the ministry we do here in New Zealand.
Imagine if this young couple had encountered a loving church community that was willing to support them through their pregnancy. Would this letter have even needed to be written?
And how much harder would things be for the man who wrote this letter if he did not have someone like Marina and the Buttons Project to call on in the midst of his brokenness - which is precisely why Focus on the Family NZ is involved in supporting the important work of Christian post-aboriton care ministries in this country.
"Dear Marina,
I’m writing to you from prison.
My partner and I decided on an abortion about a year ago. My partner wanted to tell no one of our abortion at that time. I said that I’d fully support her wishes.
It was after the abortion that she changed towards me, a lot of blaming, she become really cold towards me and would say some real nasty things about me and my family whom she had never met.
Things became so stressed that we split up just before Christmas last year.
From there I took to drinking and drugs and ended up in trouble with the police. And now I’m in prison. I’ve been in prison for six months now and I’m finding that always picking up books on abortion; I am finding ways to heal.
I believed that we would have had a girl and her name would have been “Ella." Thank you for your Buttons Project, yes it helps with the healing and grieving.
I wonder how many other people go off the rails after an abortion.
You now have a prison Button."
If you, or someone you know is struggling to deal with feelings of grief, shame or sadness after an abortion, then please do not hesitate to reach out to us. Our team can anonymously put you in contact with caring and supportive carers around the country who specialise in helping people to find healing after abortion.