25 Years of Bringing Post Abortion Healing
Congratulations to Project Rachel for 25 years of service to those who have been harmed by abortion. As the article says, it is a bittersweet moment. But it is a much needed ministry that brings the healing love of Christ to those who have been harmed by abortion. When they started thet focused on the post-abortion emotional, psychological & spiritual harm done to women by abortion. In recent years thay have started Project Joseph that reaches out to men who have been harmed by abortion.
Post Abortion Syndrome (PAS) has been documented in study after study, many done by abortion supporters trying to disprove it, yet the abortion industry dismisses it out of hand. Even the American Psychiatric Association has betrayed the men & women suffering from it by denying its existance. (Abortion has no Negative Psychological Consequences: American Psychological Association)
Having done research for a talk on PAS & men, I know it exists. Women, men & other family members as well can be hurt by abortion. & while the APA & the abortion industry have washed their hands of the damage done, groups like Project Rachel (see sidebar for others) are bringing them the message of God's love & forgiveness to set those hurt by abortion on the path of healing in all aspects of their lives. Unlike the APA & abortion industry, those of us in the Pro-life movement will not reject those harmed by abortion. We want them to know that they can be forgiven. They can be healed. They can be set free.
I pray for the day that we no longer need ministries like those offered by Project Rachel. But until then, I pray that God will provide the needed resources so that everyone who is in need of healing after an abortion will be able to get it.
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
Milwaukee, WI (LifeNews.com) -- Project Rachel, the organization that has helped thousands of women rebuild their lives following the problems and pain of an abortion, is marking 25 years of ministry. The anniversary is a bittersweet moment because the need for such a group only arises out of death, pain and heartache.
Vicki Thorn founded the ministry, which started as a project out of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, and she has seen the physical and emotional scars of an abortion in the bodies and hearts of countless women.
She told the Catholic News Service the anniversary has been "an awesome experience of looking back and seeing how an idea that was really only Spirit-inspired changed the face of the abortion debate in the U.S., and, not only in the U.S., but also in other countries."
Thorn had personal experience watching women go thorough agony after an abortion when her close friend in high school suffered through addiction, eating disorders and self-destructive actions after her abortion.
She went to school to study psychology and noted how her courses did not specifically prepare her for how to help women facing an abortion decision.
Thorn told CNS that she saw the Catholic Church as an ideal place to form the ministry.
"That from what I saw of my friend, it was both a spiritual and a human wound that needed to be addressed, and as a church, with sacraments and the people who populate the church, we can take care of this," she said.
"So that was my understanding, but then you had to find people who knew enough to be able to train priests, train mental health professionals, figure out how we're going to deal with people in terms of how are they going to find us, the phone calls and things like that," she added.
Thorn emphasizes that women who have an abortion go through a normal grieving process and spurns the idea that there is something wrong with them.
"This is a woman who lost her child in a traumatic and unnatural fashion. She's grieving, hello! I mean, that's normal," Thorn said.
"And the process is one of helping her to process the anger toward the other people involved, to move to forgiveness, to be reconciled then with God, with her baby and with herself and forgive herself in that, that's it," Thorn told CNS. "That's not high-tech psychotherapy, you know, that's spiritual healing and it works."
Since the founding of Project Rachel, post-abortion research has come a long way and people wanting to help women know much more than they did then.
Thorn and her colleagues better understand the mental health problems women face -- ranging from suicide, addictions and problems in relationships -- than they did. Those tools better prepare them to meet women at the point of their need.
Vicki Thorn founded the ministry, which started as a project out of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, and she has seen the physical and emotional scars of an abortion in the bodies and hearts of countless women.
She told the Catholic News Service the anniversary has been "an awesome experience of looking back and seeing how an idea that was really only Spirit-inspired changed the face of the abortion debate in the U.S., and, not only in the U.S., but also in other countries."
Thorn had personal experience watching women go thorough agony after an abortion when her close friend in high school suffered through addiction, eating disorders and self-destructive actions after her abortion.
She went to school to study psychology and noted how her courses did not specifically prepare her for how to help women facing an abortion decision.
Thorn told CNS that she saw the Catholic Church as an ideal place to form the ministry.
"That from what I saw of my friend, it was both a spiritual and a human wound that needed to be addressed, and as a church, with sacraments and the people who populate the church, we can take care of this," she said.
"So that was my understanding, but then you had to find people who knew enough to be able to train priests, train mental health professionals, figure out how we're going to deal with people in terms of how are they going to find us, the phone calls and things like that," she added.
Thorn emphasizes that women who have an abortion go through a normal grieving process and spurns the idea that there is something wrong with them.
"This is a woman who lost her child in a traumatic and unnatural fashion. She's grieving, hello! I mean, that's normal," Thorn said.
"And the process is one of helping her to process the anger toward the other people involved, to move to forgiveness, to be reconciled then with God, with her baby and with herself and forgive herself in that, that's it," Thorn told CNS. "That's not high-tech psychotherapy, you know, that's spiritual healing and it works."
Since the founding of Project Rachel, post-abortion research has come a long way and people wanting to help women know much more than they did then.
Thorn and her colleagues better understand the mental health problems women face -- ranging from suicide, addictions and problems in relationships -- than they did. Those tools better prepare them to meet women at the point of their need.
posted by Al @ 12:43 AM
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