Can Relationships Survive After Abortion?
Theresa Karminski Burke, Ph.D.
For some women, abortion is the result of an outright threat of abandonment if the woman won’t “do the right thing” and abort. Other times, the pressure is more subtle: “It’s your decision, but….”
Unfortunately, all the evidence shows that abortion to “save a relationship”
almost never works. Many relationships between couples come apart shortly after an abortion. Others survive only because the partners are still bound together by grief. These relationships often turn into prolonged, mutually destructive mourning rituals.(1) Even married couples are often driven apart by an abortion unless they can find a way to complete the grieving process together.
Abortion breeds anger, resentment, and bitterness toward the partner who was not supportive or who ignored their partner’s desire to keep the baby.
At the same time, there is often tremendous pressure in the relationship to conceal one’s true feelings of grief or guilt. This can especially be a problem for men, who are often taught to hide their emotions. Men may also feel obligated to appear “strong” so as not to upset the woman any further.
Men can be affected by abortion in many of the same ways as women. Many men have reported post-abortion problems such as feelings of grief, helplessness and guilt; sexual dysfunction; substance abuse; self-hatred; fear of relationships; risk-taking and suicidal behavior; depression; greater tendencies toward becoming angry and violent; and a sense of lost manhood.(2)
When either women or men carry the emotional baggage of an unresolved abortion into a subsequent relationship, it can cause trouble in subtle and even dramatic ways.
This is especially a problem when they keep the abortion a secret from their spouses, who are then unable to understand their emotional cycles. The distortions in behavior that result when spouses keep secrets from each other can be devastating to a marriage.
At the very least, the “need” to keep a past abortion secret prevents couples from giving and receiving unconditional love. This deprives the relationship of the opportunity to reach its full potential.
It is no coincidence that the abortion rate and the domestic violence rate have risen almost side by side. Abortion, for both women and men, is associated with self-hatred, self-punishing behavior, and an increased tendency to act out anger and rage toward others.
A woman who is self-destructive or suicidal, but afraid to deliberately harm herself, may be more likely to become involved with a violent man. A violent relationship may allow her both to express her own rage and to experience what she unconsciously feels is the “punishment I deserve.” Because of self-hatred and low self-esteem, she may remain in the relationship because she thinks she doesn’t deserve anything better.
Certainly, there are many other causes of domestic violence. But substantial statistical evidence and many case studies show that abortion is contributing to this national tragedy.
Until these women and men are provided with an environment that promotes post-abortion healing, they are likely to remain trapped in these cycles of violence.
~~~
Dr. Theresa Karminski Burke is a psychotherapist and founder of Rachel’s Vineyard international post-abortion ministry. She is also the author of Forbidden Grief: The Unspoken Pain of Abortion.
Related Articles:
The Wounded Generation
Men and Abortion
Abortion and Domestic Violence
Index to Articles on the Psychological Risks of Abortion
How to Help Someone You Love Heal After an Abortion
Find Help:
Help During Pregnancy
Help After Abortion
Center Against Forced Abortions
1. Franke, L. Bird, The Ambivalence of Abortion (New York: Random House Inc., 1978) p. 63. See also Reardon, Aborted Women, 45.
2. Strahan, T., “Portraits of Post-Abortive Fathers Devastated by the Abortion Experience,” Assoc. for Interdisciplinary Research in Values and Social Change, Nov./Dec. 1994.
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Hi,
I’m 23yr and my boyfriend is 23 too. I have a 3yr-old-girl I got with my first boyfriend just soon after completing my secondary education. The child came up with surprise because It was my first time having sex. I didn’t know anything about it till when I realized I got pregnant. I delivered and worked by myself since I didn’t want to hear anything about baby daddy. I hate him with passion because I felt like he had ruined my life. I left for him for good and I moved on.
In my first in campus I found a new guy who really loved me. I was crying all the time when we were together since I had developed love too and that me having a kid could ruin everything. Surprisingly, he made me very comfortable assuring me of his dedication to me ready to hear me out. I told him reality and how we had nothing going on with my first boyfriend. He hugged me tightly and whispered saying he loved me the with the baby. Sigh of relief.
We’ve been dating for 2 yrs and I accidentally got pregnant. We discussed the issue and got decision that we should do abortion not because we wanted but because we weren’t ready to take care of yet. This year Feb, I got pregnant again and I told Him and he said it was too much to do abortion but rather to keep for he’ll have us as his. Due to covid 19, everyone went home and I deeply felt like I was going to bring more stress to my family since they were taking care of my first kid. I told him I’ll abort but he refused me doing so for he had developed attached to this unborn child. I thought over it and decided to abort for the goodness of my mum and to avoid the child suffering from lack of resources for the parents are still students. Furthermore to save my education life.
I did it and deceived him that It was a miscarriage. He is very furious and unhappy. He could blame me (had instinct that I did abort) which was true. Due to the scenario everything changed conversation etc. To defend myself I could cry in the phone blaming Him of not being understanding. We broke up because of blame games and I feel so bad. He says he don’t want to talk about love again with me. I called him after 3 months of break up and he told me that we can talk about everything but love no. I’ve been in NC for the last one week and I hope of giving Him space. I’m waiting come January when we’ll be in campus together. If he’ll never contact me or see me I’ll be sending Him a letter on Valentine’s. He didn’t blocked me. Tells his Friends who are also my friends that we are OK no problem but the truth is we broke up. I’m pretty sure he loved me got no girlfriend since he had assured me of not loving again If i slip away from him. He’s Rigid and hrdheaded. Can I still have Him back? Please help , I love Him passionately and unable to move on. He’s that guy you’ll never want to let go. Please help.
Nelly,
My heart goes out to both you and your boyfriend. I think your only hope of reconciliation is to sincerely and deeply apologize. What you did was wrong to him, wrong to your aborted children, and wrong to yourself. I understand the pressures you were facing, and why it seemed like the best, logical option. But logic does not change the damage to his heart. It does not change the wrong that was done to your child. Logic is an excuse for what is “right” but it does not make a wrong thing truly right.
Apologize. And even more importantly, mourn with him for the loss of your child. Acknowledge that it is right for him to mourn the death of his child. Read, and share with him, our resource page and tips for post-abortion recovery. Consider going with him to a Rachel’s Vineyard weekend retreat for post-abortion recovery. It can be incredibly healing for couples to work through their abortion experiences together, instead of separately.
You are all in my prayers.
Year 2017 I was pregnant for 12 weeks but ended up having termination. My boyfriend and I was dating for 15 months that time it was unplanned he was under stress and he is not ready to have another child. Due to unstable job and fight for his 2 children in the court was ongoing. He didn’t give me any choice but to get rid of my pregnancy. That time I don’t know what to do I was so stress and scared I grow up having my parents with me and I always want my child to have the same thing a mother and a father. To keep the relationship going I follow his decision. It’s been a while now but the pain I have to go through every day it’s very unexplainable. Sometimes I feel like I just wanna finish my life. I get upset when I saw pregnant women I do love kids very much I hated my self for not standing my right and the right of my child I’m very ashame of my self if I could turn back the time I would never allowed it to happen. I don’t love or see my boyfriend the same way. We are engaged now but i can’t see my self having a family with him… I hated him more everyday and blame him all the damaged it cause me… I don’t trust him anymore. I did try to saved the relationship but now I am ready to just walk away. To be able to forget everything I need to forget and let him go…
Dear Jeanny,
I’m very sorry to hear what you are going through and how much it has damaged your relationship.
You should have hope, however! It is my prayer that your partner will understand and help you to heal by supporting you in reaching out to find and participate in a good post-abortion healing program, which you will find information about in this link.
While there are many programs that can help you, since you are a couple, I would strongly encourage you to both participate in a Rachel Vineyard weekend which can accommodate couples. While the abortion now stands as an obstacle between you, by working through it together you will both be able to understand each other and work through the grief together, which may be essential to fully restoring your relationship.
You are all in my prayers.
Hi, reading your story got me so scared and emotional. I found out this week that I’m pregnant for my boyfriend of 7 months. We’re so conflicted because we feel like we’re not ready to have a kid but at the same time we’re afraid of what will happen to our relationship after the abortion. I’ve never been so afraid, I’m a 3rd year student it college and he’s 12 years older than me. He’s got a 2 year old already and is dealing with baby mama drama on a daily. I fear that he’s afraid is that our relationship will turn out like his previous one. I don’t know what to think anymore but I’m so scared, I also don’t think I want to abort my first child, it could be my only, God forbid but on a serious note. He’s a great guy and I love him so much, I know whatever I decide he’s got my back but I don’t even know what to decide at this point.
Dear Jeanette,
I know it feels like you are in such a tough spot right now. It’s scary. You’re afraid of making the wrong decision. And logically, abortion always looks like a practical solution.
But in your heart, you already know there is only one right decision. It’s hard. It won’t be smooth sailing. But you will never regret having your baby, regardless of how things work out with your boyfriend.
Please start by reviewing the list of risk factors that predict which women will have the most negative emotional effects from an abortion. Just from the little you’ve written, I can already tell you are at higher risk. Abortion is not for you. If you had an abortion, you would carry it with you as one of the greatest regrets of your life.
I have no doubt that your boyfriend will love your child, too. As I said. It may be scary. It may be difficult. It may be darn hard at times. But you will manage and live to see the day when you are so glad that you gave your child the gift of life.
As I mentioned before, abortion can look like a logical solution. It comes with the “promise” that you can avoid the disruption of plans linked to your present pregnancy and wait to have a baby at some “better” time in the future. But once you are pregnant, you are already a mother. An abortion won’t change that. It will just leave you a grieving mother.
Have faith. Everything will work out. Hopefully, with your boyfriend’s support. But even if he doesn’t give your his support right away (since it is likely he will eventually realize that giving birth was best, too), do the right thing. I promise, you will never regret it.
Thank you so much for the beautiful response. My boyfriend and I decided to keep the baby, he realized that putting me through an abortion would cause more damage in both our lives then just having the baby. I’m so afraid of what’s to come but I’d rather deal with this then an abortion.
I am so happy for you, Jeanette! Thank you for sharing your news. I’m sure the two of you can be great parents. As I’m sure you know, raising a child is a lot of work, but it is worth it!
You are all in my prayers.
I hope you decided to keep your baby.. you will never get over the trauma of abortion.. I know.. i has 2 in my life.. one when I was very young and one with my husband who forced me into it. It has destroyed my marriage and my soul…
Hi Jeanny …I was reading your story and I thought I was the only one who is going through this alone …your story is the same as mine ….my relationship with this guy who made me pregnant …he made me go through this painful thing in my life and it’s hard to forget it cause when I see him …I see nothing in him ..I do love him but don’t wanna be with him cause I feel like when I’m with him …he is going to hurt me more and more…
It is a hell on earth. We were an affair, with a magic story, the news of the baby, knowing it was mine was as double celebration, keep key out of her controlling relationship,we would be together and have the back by, but wasn’t like e that. She was on a codependent relationship. A lot of roller coasters, I prayed more than ever, and she decided to keep. Days later she had panic days and counselling provided at Royal Women’s Clinic pushed her to do it. She regret next day. As for me it was a nightmare, we both started to binge drinking and smoke, I have no sense of self worth, I look at children and ask why they deserved to born, including her kids, why mine was denied? I go to the toilet w wishing that a all my organs would go with the feaces, I feel like I have no feelings, hate everything, including myself. Anything set me up and I get angry. God a and angels did not attend my prayers, I feel like I have to be punished, that I should not have kids and wish I could die, feels like no healing is possible. Never felt this way before. I’m looking into counselling and retreats.
Rodrigo, it sounds like this was a truly terrible and traumatic experience, and I am so sorry for your loss and pain. You seem to feel so much despair, but punishing yourself is not the answer and there is a way to heal from this. Please do consider going on a retreat and/or getting counseling. You can read more about this process and what to look for in a counselor or support group on our healing page. The Rachel’s Vinyeard web site also has stories of healing, a Q&A section where you can find out more about counseling, and email support as well as a hotline to speak with someone. Please reach out for help and healing from your grief and pain.
Firstly, thanks to everyone posting. It’s great to read experiences from real people.
I have no one to speak to, so am grateful to be able to get some hurt off my chest.
I had an abortion yesterday. My partner and I have a 13 month old son, the baby was exactly 7 weeks. I decided to go through with the abortion because I care for our son alone I feel, he still breastfeeds and the toll it was taking on my body was extreme. I was exhausted, and I was afraid of the future attempting to really put my everything into 2. I decided it was best for me, my son and any future children to have a larger gap. My partner agreed, he said he would support my decision.
But the day of the appointment, he left me to find my own way there. He was busy. As usual. It solidified my decision. His life hasn’t changed having this child, why would it change with two?
I had a medical abortion, it was lonely, painful and sad. I saw the little embryo, I made peace with her, I was sorry and asked her to come back again when I could give her the time she deserved.
I called my partner to pick me up, he rudely said on the phone, ‘don’t you have money for a cab?’ Oh… I felt ok until then.
I actually didn’t have any money for a cab. There were constant little add ons on the price of the procedure. I ended up walking 5km home. It was painful to do so. I had a slight fever before leaving and I was worried I was doing myself damage but was keen to get back to my son who I hadn’t fed all day.
He complained of the difficult day with our son. It was the first time since he was born that he has spent so much time with him, and our son so much time away from me.
My partner then asked how long it would take for me to get everything ready for us to go back to our village house – he had plans there. I finally snapped. He could see what needed to be packed! Why did I have to do it? I asked him if he thought my day was a ‘walk in the park’ compared to his. He thought so. He doesn’t want to know anything about the procedure or talk about it at all. Like let’s pretend it hasn’t happened.
I awoke today to find him gone to the village, phone forgotten, a few dollars left for me to get food and the sorts. A nice gesture…
As we have made some pact to not discuss what has happened, I feel we will not get past this. There of course are problems already, that’s why I had the abortion in the first place. I’m not quite sure what to do. Just up and go? My son and I can do this alone.
I understand maybe he is hurting? He said he would respect my decision but it seems that was an outright lie.
What can I do?
Dear Vicky,
As you yourself have noted, there are a lot of issues on the table. I suspect he is hurting. Saying he “respects your decision” is different than being entirely in agreement, much less free of any doubts and regrets. Your decision to abort, itself, may be heard on some level by him as, “You don’t believe in us. You don’t trust me.”
When the time is right, perhaps you should both look at our tips and resources on post-abortion healing. They are there for both women and men. Some programs, like Rachel’s Vineyard, have programs for couples to attend together. In these cases, dealing with an abortion may open the door to dealing with other issues in the relationship.
You are in our prayers.
Hi,
I have been with my partner for almost 11 years (married for 4) and we have 3 beautiful kids who are under 4 and 2 teens (who are from his previous marriage). I got an abortion today at 11 weeks and my husband begged me to keep the baby but I refused. I already felt overwhelmed with our children, plus working full time and I didn’t want another baby. Now, he is not speaking to me and tells me that our marriage is going to be different. He’s clearly hurt and I suggested therapy but he declined. I honesty don’t know what to do.
Your suggestion of therapy was a good one. I’m glad that you are trying to understanding of his feelings of loss. It’s important that he feels that you respect his feelings, even if you can’t “fix” them.
I would encourage you to suggest not just therapy for him, but rather doing something as a couple to help both of you through this experience. Specifically, I’d recommend a couple’s weekend participating in the Rachel’s Vineyard program, which is offered in many different areas of the country.
I’ve heard many good things about the program for couples. It would be a great opportunity for both of you to understand each other’s experience better, to show empathy to each other, and to heal together as a couple.
Hi I’m in a relationship of 2 years now and I had an abortion last year. I met my boyfriend in 2016 and now I am pregnant again and he keeps on pushing me to abort this child because he is not ready and I lost my job. He’s the only person that is working and he’s been through a divorce with four kids from different mother’s so he keeps on saying he wants to do the right thing first by us getting married before bringing a child to this earth. I don’t think he is ready to get himself committed again and he has told me before that he doesn’t see himself getting married again. So I believe he just wants this abortion for his own reasons and kinder felt the threat of us breaking up if I decide to go on with the pregnancy so I really don’t know what to do I also have a 4 year-old-son and I’m sure he would be Happy to hear that there’s a new baby on the way
Dear Mellisa,
I want to apologize for not answering you much earlier! We had a lapse in our system for notifying us when comments like yours are posted. Your message slipped through our cracks and I feel terrible that we didn’t respond earlier.
I pray you are doing well. Let us know if you still need help or advice. Don’t hesitate to call our office, at (217) 525-8202
My girlfriend is pregnant and she considers going for abortion. We are both still in first year varsity and we not ready to be parents. I don’t feel good about this whole abortion thing. To me abortion means we gonna be the parents of a dead child not making her unpregnant. But she doesn’t wanna keep the baby as she is not ready. She also don’t wanna abort as she thinks I’m gonna be mad and see her in a different way. I really don’t know if we gonna survive after abortion and if I’m gonna be mad after abortion.
Dear Andrew, please don’t be in despair about this. Abortion is not the only path for you and your girlfriend. Your girlfriend may be feeling really trapped right now and not know what to do. Both of you need all the information you can get, and support to help you and your baby. You are right in that you are already parents and abortion will not turn back the clock. If you are struggling now with this decision that is not likely to go away, and it can have a tremendous impact on both of you and on your relationship. You need to let your girlfriend know that you are there for her and that you will stand by both her and your baby. Likely right now she is very scared and feeling like her whole future is in jeopardy.
I would suggest starting with this article about what fathers can do when their partners are considering abortion (also see the article, 10 Reasons not to Have an Abortion). Second, you need to reach out to people who can help provide truthful information, alternatives and options, and real support for you and your girlfriend — not those who will try to sell or push you into having abortion because they think it is best. Remember that you do have options, and abortion is not the only path you can take! If you are in the US, you can contact OptionLine for help by visiting their web site, calling 1-800-712-4357. texting HELPLINE to 313131 or going here to chat live with a counselor. You can also visit here for a list of nationwide support organizations (some also provide help outside the US). All of these groups provide free support or connections to other resources that can help you in whatever way you need — talking to your families, sorting out your options, help with financial or medical situation, housing, adoption counseling and more. If you don’t see a group to help you on this list or live outside the US you can email me at elliotinstitute@gmail.com and I’ll try to put you in touch with local support.
I hope this helps. Please know that you are not alone and that you do have options!
Please look over the risk factors that identify the women at greatest risk of more severe psychological reactions to abortion. Reading some of the testimonies women have given about their own abortion experiences may also be helpful. Finally, here is a starting place to learn about how men can be affected by abortion.
Plz tell me where to write my pblms so tht i cn get a solutin
You can write here for our advice.
Dear _______ ,
I had just had an abortion earlier today. When I had found out I was pregnant I was in total shock and couldn’t believe what was happening. I felt total in denial and sad. I always planned to get married first with the love of my life and get excited to hear such news but I never would have expected a random unplanned pregnancy at age 19.
This is my first year in college and I live with my mom and brother in a home where raising a child would just be unhealthy in the condition of my home. I ended up doing the abortion one week after finding out i was pregnant. In that week I was starting to wonder “what if….” I started to grow this love for the little forming baby inside me. The other part of me would just show me how I just wasn’t ready. Before all this, me and my boyfriend used to talk about having a family; having a first child was going to be the best gift from God…
Before I found out, I was in love with him (way before we were together) I would pray and pray to ask God to help us grow in the Lord.. and for God to lead me to the right one no matter how long it was going to take..someone who would love the Lord too. He goes to church with me and my family as he did when we were only friends. I would push him away for so long until I realized the one from God was in front of me all along. I have a good feeling abut him when I think of him being a gift from God in my life.
Anyways, when I had told my partner the news of being pregnant a week ago he was shocked too. He couldn’t believe it actually had happened and what we were going to do. I could tell he was a lot more scared of the realness of it and we came to an agreement that we just weren’t ready. I couldn’t have ever thought of the action of actually doing an abortion. My mom is so against it. I was raised in a Christian home and the pain I felt after doing this is horrible.
Everyday in the past week I thought about it debating what I should do…what would be best…so many moments I would just break down and feel so alone in all this. I looked for every source in my mind and on the internet and everyone else other than God..cause I knew an abortion was an abomination to him. I felt disconnected from him. I felt like he hates me now.
I ended up doing the abortion because I thought it was the best option for both me and my boyfriend and the baby. After doing so today, i feel so much sadness in my heart and regret…part of me felt relieved until my boyfriend bought it up what I had done. I wasn’t sure if he was joking (he jokes a lot) but something like this isn’t something to joke about.
I don’t want him to grow hate towards me for this…I always pray and pray for our relationship to work out how God wants it to and I pray everyday for him. He also believes strongly in God.
Me and him had made an agreement that we wouldn’t have sex until were married. Now..coming from someone with regret and sadness from what i had done, is there a chance for our relationship to grow in Jesus’s name?
From reading this article i got really saddened and scared in the part where it said almost no relationship lasts after something like this. I know my boyfriend loves me, but is he going to grow hate towards me? Will God still love me the same? Will God still fix us? please…I need to hear the right thing right now for O feel so lost. I hope God can lead someone to me with his wisdom through this comment. Thank you so much.
Dear Lost, I’m so glad you found our site. First, I’m so sorry about your experience. Please know that God does love you and doesn’t want you to live in pain. He wants to show you mercy, peace and healing — both for you and your boyfriend. Nothing and no one are beyond the reach of His mercy and grace. He can help both you and your boyfriend through this.
Pope John Paul II wrote in his letter “The Gospel of Life;”
So have hope! Right now all this is still very fresh for you and you are likely still reeling. That’s okay and you don’t need to push yourself to feel better or “put it behind you.” You need time to grieve your loss, work through any trauma you have experienced and sort things out with your boyfriend. The best way to do this is to reach out to someone who can help.
You say that you are hoping God can lead you to someone who can help, and the best place to start is to contact an organization that offers counseling and support after abortion. You can visit our healing page for more information on what this entails and a list of organizations that offer post-abortion support. They can also help your boyfriend if he wants to talk with them. These groups offer free, confidential and non-judgemental help and will be happy to listen, talk with and support you.
If you don’t feel ready to talk with someone over the phone, you can contact Rachel’s Vineyard by email or get help through text (text “HELPLINE” to 313131) or chat from OptionLine. Rachel’s Vineyard also has a Q&A section where you can post and read questions about healing.
I hope this helps. Please visit our healing page and visit some of the resources there are linked on this comment. And know that we will be praying for you and your boyfriend as well.
Hi, it’s been a year now since I’ve had the abortion. I was already a single mom of a 6 year old. About 4 months into our relationship we found out I was pregnant. We talked about our options and both decided at the time that an abortion would be good for us since we just started dating and I was already a single mom and knew how hard it was with one let alone two kids.
We made an appointment and my boyfriend came with me, after our first appointment I decided to just ask my boyfriend what he would think if we kept the baby. I was having second thoughts and since he seemed like he was going to support and be with me through it all like a man then maybe he’d be man enough to be a great dad. He laughed and said no. Me not wanting to be a single mom of 2 decided to just go through with it.
The day I got the abortion my boyfriend helped me pick up my son from his grandmother house he had to go home and left me there with my son. I was still not feeling a hundred percent but I remember just holding my 6 yr old boy and telling him I’m so glad I have him.
It’s been over a year now almost two and he wants to have another kid in a year. I can’t have a kid with him because I know I’ll always think we just wasted a kid. And deep down inside I absolutely hate him for this. I love him but we have been fighting and I think I’ll never get over him not even thinking twice about the abortion. We are still together but I think I’m too broken to be anything with him.
Dear Bliz,
You are very intuitive to see this combination of hate and love you have for your boyfriend. You are right to be concerned. That doesn’t mean the two of you can’t work through this, but keeping it buried will just guarantee future hardship.
First, you need to attend to the healing of your own post-abortion grief. If you have not yet done so, start exploring the post-abortion healing programs available on our tips and resources page.
After you have at least talked to someone, and perhaps after you have started a program, then open up to him and tell him how much you are hurting about the past abortion and your need to work through that before you can think about having a child with him. And that would be a good time to tell him how you continue to feel anger about how he laughed at your request that he stand by you in keeping the child you aborted. That will also be a good time to find out if perhaps he is feeling unresolved grief over the abortion. It could be that he is but is just covering it up. Or perhaps, he really hasn’t thought much about it . . . in which case, he will need to, at least in coming to understand what you are going through.
At some point, you should then invite him to participate with you in a post-abortion healing program. For example, the Rachel’s Vineyard weekend programs are often with couples. By his participation, he will come to understand your pain, your anger, your loss . . . and his own reactions . . . and if you heal together you will then be able to fully forgive him and deepen your love.
If you get to that stage, I have great hope for your relationship. If he bails on you again, and is unwilling to confront the abortion and to help you through the healing process, which includes apologizing for his failings, then I have very little hope for a lasting relationship for this will always be percolating up in resentments and hurts.
First things first. Reach out for help for yourself. With their help, then invite him to understand your pain and to work at healing together.
You are all in my prayers.
Hi,
My situation is very complicated. I am living with my boyfriend and he didn’t want to have the baby (it wasn’t the time). I wasn’t sure. I decided to do what he wanted….. The feeling of grief that I am feeling is taking over myself.
But life doesn’t work how we planned…The abortion didn’t work. Now I want to keep the baby, but I have a very high risk of the baby being sick.
He asked me to get married and I say yes… but I want to keep the baby.
This year I lost my father, I got pregnant, fail abortion and engaged….
I need help because I don’t know what to do, sometimes I want to run and keep running….
I need advice as I’m really losing my mind and have really been getting more depressed as time goes on. Please Help.
Dear Bestrong,
Your life may be complicated, but one thing is certain. Don’t try to have another abortion. You clearly fit into the group of women who are at high risk of more severe emotional problems after an abortion. Check out these risk factors.
In your heart you already know that an abortion would be bad for you. It would always be something you regret.
Even you knew for certain that your baby would have some side-effect from the failed abortion attempt, all the research shows that abortion in cases of suspected fetal anomalies are emotionally scarring on women, men, and families. Here is an article about many of the women who regret listening to the advice to abort a child for medical reasons.
Regarding your worries about the baby’s health, take care of yourself, try not to stress, and leave the future to God and nature. If by chance the baby won’t survive, it is better to allow a natural death and go through a natural grief process than to always feel guilty for taking away the chance for the baby to survive.
If you love your boyfriend and trust him to be a good husband and father, by all means marry him. If he is making his proposal only if you agree to aborting, then he will not be a good husband or father. Pressuring a woman to have an abortion is one of the major risk factors that will hurt you (and him), much less your baby.
You are in my prayers. Please keep us informed about how things are going. If you do miscarry, please reach out to a post-abortion recovery program. If you need help to keep your baby, please reach out to a pregnancy help center.
Earlier this year I started dating an old friend I knew from high shool. I found out I was pregnant in April and was happy and shocked. Shocked because I wasn’t in a long term relationship with him. Yes I’ve known him for years, but so many things were in the way. I have a 4 year old and her dad and I were very rocky at the time.
When I told my mom and sister they were in shock. Telling me how could I be so stupid to let this happen, && that I should consider getting rid of the baby. I never in a million years thought my family would say this. Since they are so religious. Abortion hadn’t even crossed my mind.
Here I was 25 y/o thinking about this. When I told my bf at the time. He was ecstatic. We decided to keep the baby. We then started looking for a house to buy, and everything along with it. Time passed and my daughter’s dad found out I was pregnant. He then tried everything possible to convince me to abort. Then my sister all over again. My mom not so much but she would bring it up a couple times.
Shortly after my mind was so confused I had no clue what to do anymore. I felt like my family was making my decision for me. But my bf is stable income wise, so was I, but I started letting everyone’s words get to me. Then I began to imagine what people would say, what would my family say.. that I was going to be the main topic of everything.
I then decided to make an appointment. I felt so weak. I didn’t let my bf know how my family was treating me. He had no clue they were insisting in an abortion. I went in on June 2nd for my abortion but something went wrong in the clinic with my insurance so they couldn’t do the procedure. I felt like it was a sign to not do it. But I ignored it. They rescheduled me for the 7th. The whole night before my bf was just begging. I remember he even called and messaged my mom to try to convince me to not do it. That I would regret it. But I just didn’t listen.
I let my mothers, sisters and ex bf’s words get to me. I got my abortion done at 15 weeks. When I woke up I was crying historically. I couldn’t believe what I had just done. And where I was laying down I could see the operating rooms. Then I could just hear the vacuums being turned on and I knew they were suctioning out another baby. It made me go crazy hearing that. I left empty, angry with myself. With my sister. In fact my sister was the one that dropped me off and picked me up. I cried the whole ride home. I threw up twice. I got home and later on my mom got home. She had no idea I had done it. When I told her I did she broke down and asked me to forgive her that she felt like she persuaded me to do it. I told her she didn’t. But she did along with my sister. Later that night my bf got there and I just couldn’t stop crying. He was just in disbelief. He couldn’t even look at me. I ended up blowing up on my mom that night telling her off. And that’s when my bf found out they didn’t want me to have the baby.
Time passed and I was trying to forgive myself but I couldn’t. October came and I end up finding out I am pregnant again. How stupid can I be? Knowing what I was going through. Needless to say when I found out I was pregnant again I had just ended things with my bf a week prior. But we were still occasionally talking. I didn’t tell anyone. My mom had even signed me up for a retreat for my past abortion. I attended it in late October. It was a healing retreat to forgive for the abortion we had done. I knew my mom was regretting everything and was trying to make me feel better. But I was killing my self inside knowing I was pregnant again. I didn’t tell anyone.
I came home from the retreat feeling better. But confused. I didn’t know what to do. All I knew was that I felt so so so alone this time. I assured myself I couldn’t go through with it again. But not letting a single person know was the worst. I made an appointment AGAIN…5 months after I had my 1st abortion. The person that took me had no idea. They thought I was going in for birth control and it just took long. There I was in the same waiting room in the same operating room. I then woke up from my anesthesia and I felt nothing. I was numb. Not a single tear I shed that day. Not a single person knows.
It’s only been 4 days from my second abortion and I am going crazy. Today is also my due date of my last abortion. Everything is just building up. I want to tell my ex but I don’t know. I have never felt so alone in my life.
I am going crazy. I constantly cry. My mom is noticing me being different but has no clue. I didn’t bother telling my mom or sister because I didn’t have their support the first time why would I now?
I feel so empty to the point where I want to call my daughters dad and just have him pick her up and have her live with him from now on. I tend to take out my anger and frustration out on the wrong people. I feel like I don’t even deserve the title of mom to my living daughter..!
Dear Lily,
My heart goes out to you . . . and my prayers. I am so sorry you felt pressured into the first abortion and were drawn into the second by your confusion, embarrassment, and fears.
Here’s a hard truth. It is relatively common for women to get pregnant again soon after an abortion because on some level, conscious or unconscious, they want to “replace” the lost baby, restart the broken cycle of pregnancy, or fill the void in their hearts. At the same time, up to half of these women who on one level want this replacement pregnancy will have another abortion, like you did? Why? Sometimes, self punishment. They don’t feel they deserve a baby, much less happiness after their previous abortion. Other times, because they face the same pressures to abort as the first time. Other times, to grow more hardened. Some women report that with each abortion it hurt less and less because they became more emotionally dead. There are many reasons, and yours are not unusual. You might want to read about the pattern of repeat abortions in Forbidden Grief.
Please, please, don’t give up hope. Contact the people at the post-abortion retreat and meet with them. I know you’re likely feel scared and embarrassed about the prospect of telling them the rest of your story which you hid from them on that weekend. But they will understand. They have heard, seen, and been party to similar lapses of judgment.
Get help. Learn from your experience that keeping secrets and refusing opportunities for help can lead to bad decisions and a lifetime of regrets.
You have made mistakes. You have let your fear of others judging you lead you into two decisions about which you are now judging yourself even more harshly. Reach out for help. Be strong in choosing to seek, find, and accept healing and forgiveness and be newly rededicated to cherishing life and all the gifts (including healing and forgiveness) that God wants to bring into your life.
You are in my prayers. Please keep in touch, especially if you need any more encouragement, and let us know you are moving forward and getting the help you need.
HI I am 41 yrs old. I lost my son 1 month after giving birth when I was 26 due to the hospital screw up. I had an abortion 3 years ago. My BF (not my son’s father) and I had been together almost 7 yrs at that time. This was our 2nd pregnancy ending in termination.
After the first abortion (a year into our relationship) I immediately got on BC and stated that if we were to get pregnant again I could not deal with another abortion. So when it happened again while on BC I was devastated and excited at the same time. When I told my BF he immediately shut my feelings down stating he does not want anymore children. Yes he has 3 (2 adults, 1 almost a teen). I was devastated. He threatened to leave me if I moved forward with the pregnancy.
After playing things in my head I decided to go along w his feelings despite my heart. I love him and at the end of the day wanted to keep him in my life. When I shared with him that I would go thru with his wishes he promised we would get married and be together. He was so happy and even asked if it could be done that very day. I scheduled for it to take place the next day and he came with me.
While wtg for the dr I asked are you sure? You promise we will get married? He said yes. The procedure was heart wrenching and extremely traumatizing for me. I had to go BACK AGAIN as it did not complete w the 1st procedure. Just my luck. 🙁 The 2nd visit I just wanted to die and thought GOD was punishing me for my actions. It was horrible I was awake heard every suction and felt every pain. I still have nightmares today 3 yrs later.
Fast forward to now 3 years later and we are STILL NOT MARRIED. However we are living in a home purchased last year and we have been growing. All while I have my moments of anxiety guilt, and get depressed when I realize that I will never be a mom. But what hurts even more is that I am still NOT HIS WIFE. He praises me and professes his love all the time but I just feel alone. As if I have nothing. When asked about marriage he says HE’S NOT READY… That cuts like a knife. What about my feelings? My hurt? At least being married can fill my void of loneliness and I can feel apart of something my own family.
He claims he never told me we would be married in a week or year after the procedure. He just promised to marry me. This breaks my heart and keeps me in such a depressed state. I think of things I shouldn’t, like not living anymore bc I just dont feel a part of anything.
I cannot talk to my family bc as far as they’re concerned I miscarried. My family would be livid if they knew the truth. I walk with this burden every second of every day. Is it wrong for me to really want my marriage now? Why do I have to WAIT until HE is ready? I feel as if its unfair. Why is everything on HIS time. I really feel as if I NEED this at the very least. He claims he understands how I feel but I honestly believe he can never understand my pain.
I need advice as I’m really losing my mind and have really been getting more depressed as time goes on. Please Help.
Dear Heartache,
Please do not give up hope. Don’t wait for your boyfriend to makeup for the past. You need to pursue your own path to healing. (Hopefully he’ll join you, and catch up. But don’t put your needs on the back burner to his.)
Please call a post-abortion healing hotline today. You need to have someone you can talk to . . . especially a woman who has been through the same experience and can show you what it is like when you are on the other side of the healing process. She can show you that you can regain joy and confidence in your life.
Read our tips, especially about not giving up. If one program or counselor doesn’t fit, try again. I promise, you can find healing.
Plus, as you start down the path, that will expose your boyfriend to better understand what you are going through. It may also help him to see if there are ways that the abortions have been affecting him and interfering with his ability to follow through on his commitment to you. Some programs, like Rachel’s Vineyard, encourage couples to attend their weekend retreat together. Grieving together and healing together can truly deepen your relationship on so many levels. Instead of tip-toeing around this pain that stands between you, you can both understand each other better and heal together.
You are in my prayers. Please don’t give into the depression which will “tell” you to put off making a call. Call, and call again, and promise yourself (and me!) that you will do something every day to take a step toward healing.
You are in my prayers.
Hi.
I am married and I had an abortion 4months ago.. i want to have the baby but my husband is not ready… so I had an abortion from that day I started hated him and I can’t live with him…every time being with him makes me sad , Depressed and I remembers about the baby .. please help me I’m feeling depressed I want to kill myself…..
I am so sorry for what you are going through. Please do not give up hope. Please call one of the post-abortion distress hotlines on our resource page. You need the support of a woman who has been through the same experience and worked her way to healing.
I know it’s hard to imagine ever being able to heal from this loss. But you can. Call one or more of the numbers today. They will help you get in touch with a post-abortion healing ministry near you. Read our tips on finding a program that fits your needs on our resource page.
Don’t try to go it alone. Don’t let yourself just sink into depression alone. Please call one of the help numbers:
Abortion Recovery Network
National hotline at 657-464-7071
Lumina: Hope and Healing After Abortion
National toll-free hotline at 1-877-586-4621 or email lumina@postabortionhelp.org
National Helpline for Abortion Recovery
National toll-free hotline at 1-866-482-LIFE (1-866-482-5433)
Rachel’s Vineyard Ministries
National toll-free hotline at 1-877-HOPE-4-ME (1-877-467-3463)
Project Rachel / EsperanzaPosaborto.org (Spanish site)
National toll-free hotline at 1-888-456-HOPE (4673)
Please write again. Let me know how I can help.
Am pregnant and i told my boyfriend about it, he have always wanted me to get pregnant but i refused and now now am pregnant and he wants me to abort it because there’s no stable income from him or me, am confused, and and don’t want to to single mom. If i go through with this, i wont love him like i use to, please i need your advice
Dear Natasha,
Having a baby, even in the best of circumstances, is always a bit scary. So many changes!
And it’s not just a major change for you, it’s also a big change for your boyfriend, which is why he’s changed his mind.
I suggest you both read our article about the risk factors that identify the women most likely to have more severe emotional reactions to an abortion. Even from the little you have written, it sounds like you are a risky candidate for abortion.
You are also right to be worried about how an abortion will affect your relationship. It will either doom it or create a huge weight on both your shoulders for years to come. Having a baby, by contrast, will deepen your relationship.
I realize that having a baby will also put more pressure on both of you to improve your income. In fact, studies show that having children is linked to improvements in income . . . either because people focus more on getting better jobs or better pay . . . or perhaps God blesses couples with better income opportunities. All I can say is to trust that the income issues will work themselves out. You can always work on improving your future. But having an abortion can’t be changed. It can create a tremendous burden of loss, grief, guilt, and blame.
Ask him to read some of the stories of women who have had abortions. And he should also know that many men will carry a great burden on their hearts following an abortion, especially if they are the ones pushing for it.
You are in my prayers. Please keep in touch and let us know how we can help you.
Also, please consider going to a pregnancy help center to learn more about the programs out there to help pregnant women with the expenses of having a baby and throughout early childhood.
I’m in a similar trauma like many of them here. I had an abortion when I was 2 months pregnant. I dint cry out during my procedure though I was crying inside. But now whenever I think of the days I suffered when I never got any support from my man I cry all alone. I feel really guilty for not giving birth to this child as it is not the fault of the child to get killed. My man is already married n has a child of 9 years and I saw him taking care of me for couple of days but now that I could see him getting back to square one. He is ignoring me and not paying attention to me. I feel I’m let down and feel like running somewhere and crying loud. I don’t think so I would ever be able to forgive myself ever in my life. I did it as I was left with no choice and I dint want to raise up the kid with no father.
Hello Rose, I’m sorry you went through this and didn’t feel like you had a choice. It doesn’t sound like you are getting any real support from the father or anyone else, and are feeling very alone. But please know that you are not! You don’t have to keep mourning alone. I would strongly urge you to contact one of the organizations listed on our healing page for support. These groups are there to listen and offer counseling and support to help you work through your grief and find healing. It may seem a bit intimidating to make the call but please know that they won’t judge you and want to help. If you live outside the US you can send us an email at elliotinstitute@gmail.com and I will try to put you in touch with a group in your area that offers counseling.
Last year we decided to terminate the pregnancy of 4 weeks with my partner because we were dating each other while we were in other relationships. so now we are together and we didn’t know what to do. so now our relationship has changed because I am angry at myself and always thinking about it. and sometimes I just want to ask him how does he feels after what happened. but I am afraid because he is not someone who just opens up about his feelings. I am always paranoid and angry, pick-up wrong things in our relationship. help me I want to know what to do and how to ask him how he feels. please help me out.
Dear Vee,
My suggestion: your first priority should be to call a post-abortion healing hotline to get some support for what you are feeling right now. That way you can be 100% sure that your first experience talking to someone about this will be supportive, understanding, and encouraging.
I think it is reasonable for you to be concerned that if you bring it up to him it may not go well . . . at least at first. On the other hand, he might surprise you. He might have regrets that he is just afraid to bring up. Either way, I think it would be helpful for you to develop a support system and to find a post-abortion healing program for yourself before you bring it up. Most are free or have a very nominal cost.
Eventually, the two of you need to discuss what you are going through. At the very least, he deserves the opportunity to be supportive and to understand why certain things are setting you on edge. If he has hidden issues with it that he needs to share, opening up the conversation will be helpful to him. On the other hand, if he feels he’s fine with it and gets defensive when you bring it up, you shouldn’t press him to feel the way you do. Just ask him to respect that you are struggling with it and ask for his support of your decision to get help through a post-abortion healing program.
In short, start the process of getting help for yourself before you invite him to share his feelings.
You are in my prayers.
My Girlfriend was pregnant, and in what was a complete shock to me, she mentioned aborting. Abortion is something I’ve always been completely against, but I tried to understand what she was feeling and decided to tell her i would be there for her whatever she decided. I took her to the clinic and paid for the pill. During the entire process I told her it was OK if she changed her mind, and that i wouldn’t be upset if she needed to turn around and I didn’t care if I lost the money on it.
She went through with it and it was awful. She bled and was in so much pain for days until she passed not one but 2 fetuses. Afterwards, I remained relatively silent about it, trying to protect her from being reminded of the experience and trying to make her happy.
Our relationship is completely broken now because she blames me. She feels I should have stopped her, that she was scared and didn’t know what to do and so she needed me to be the voice of reason to speak up and tell her that i wouldn’t allow it.
I feel lost, for as long as i can remember the media and medical advice out there says to do what I did that its a woman’s choice and a man should be supportive and offer non judgment yada yada, when the fact is that all of that advice was wrong. She now sees me as the bad guy, the man who let her kill babies and even paid for it. I’m losing the love of my life and I have no control over it. She loves me but hates me and its eaten away everything we had.
It’s all lies. you know, everything the media says . . . everything the progressive camps say. It’s all lies. You can’t just be supportive and non judgmental and loving to fix this. You can only prevent it. Anyone who says different is a liar.
Dear Mike. I’m sorry for what you have both been through. While it is obviously different for different people, your case is not unique. You are right! Many men who want to say, “Don’t do it! I’m here for you! I will be a good father. You and the baby mean everything to me!” But instead, they are trained with the expectation to say: “What do you want to do? I will support whatever you want.” Meanwhile, many women, like your girlfriend, consciously or unconsciously are wondering: “What does he really want? Is he ready to commit to me and our baby?” and they hear in “What do you want to do?” not empowerment but abandonment…or at least lack of encouragement, support, and commitment.
Yeah. The “it’s a woman’s choice” rhetoric is an obstacle to true communication. And you, your beloved, and your children were victims of this “sensitivity training.”
You are both in my prayers. Please check out our page on finding a post-abortion healing program for both you and her. Working through the grief process together can heal and strengthen both of you individually but also as a couple.
You can use this experience to deepen your ability to be wise and loving and better for each other and your future children. Do not give up hope. Your reaction is understandable. Her reaction is understandable. You are blessed that she is still able to know and feel that she loves you . . . even though that is covered with anger, hate, and bitterness which is all deeply rooted in the loss of the twins.
Perhaps you can encourage her to read Forbidden Grief. It may help you, also. It will give examples of similar couples who got caught up in the same trap yet found healing and grew together.
You are not alone. It feels as if you are, I know. But there are literally thousands of women and men working in post-abortion healing ministries today who want to help you because they themselves have been there, done that, walked the path of healing, and now want to help you and others.
Don’t give up hope. Remind her that you love her; that you will do anything you can to both of you to find healing. Ask for her forgiveness. Ask her to put herself in your shoes and to have empathy for how society is training men to swallow the words “I want this baby” in favor of “Whatever you want.” Yes, you’re guilty of listening to that advice. But beg her to have a bit of empathy for the fact that you only said what you said because you believed it was what she wanted and deserved to hear . . . even if it meant that you would shoulder the loss of children you were prepared to accept, and even secretly wanted. “Fool that I am; at least I was only being a fool for love of you. Forgive me.”
You are both in my prayers. I truly feel grief over how you have both been victimized by the lie that abortion is an easy solution and that women want men to automatically support it. But don’t give up hope. Even if she’s not ready for it (and don’t push her), seek post-abortion healing for yourself.
Ive asked her to go to counseling she says no. She says that it makes no sense to stay together that we have no future together. She feels anytime i try to talk to her i am subconsciously trying to manipulate her. She cant stand to see me or touch me. I cant hug her or comfort her. She says she loves me but like a friend and has no more romantic feelings for me. She is planning on moving out. I cant stand to see her hurting and she thinks I am just fine while she is suffering, However when i get emotional she says she cant handle me showing her negative feelings. I just buty it for her. I try to move on. She seems intent to punishing herself forever and makes me feel like its all my fault and that i’m a terrible person. I do nothing because i dont know what else to do.
I’m sorry, Mike. Both of you are in deep pain. Her’s is so deep she can’t see or appreciate yours . . . and everything about you reminds her of what she has lost. Maybe time will help her heal . . . or she will eventually seek help. But there doesn’t appear to be anything she will let you do for her, at least for the near future.
If you are a praying man, pray for her. If you’re not, maybe you could pray for her anyway. Other than that, I think you just need to give her the space she wants.
I encourage you to reach out and get some help with one of the post-abortion ministries for men. It may help to be with other men who have gone through similar experiences who can give you help and support in your own process grieving the loss of your children and your girlfriend.
I know you are hurting and feeling helpless. Hang in there. Just continue trying to be the best person you can be and open yourself to learning from this experience so you can become a better, wiser, more compassionate version of yourself.
You are in my prayers.
I honestly never imagined I would be writing this but I need some guidance.
I am 25 years old and was recently in the last two months diagnosed with a pituitary brain tumor that needs removal–I also have lupus and hashimotos disease which doctors always advised me I would need fertility assistance to conceive and even then it was slim.
My boyfriend and I have been dating for only 5 months and he’s a survivor of testicular cancer and has in the past had issues with alcohol as a form of self medicating. I soon discovered after the smell of meat cooking made me sick I was pregnant. Bear in mind my tumor plays a sick joke, it has given me false positives due to it Making the same HCG hormone mimicking the body to feel pregnant so I needed to know for sure. And indeed I was pregnant. During pregnancy the pituitary gland swells and for me the tumor could be pushed against my optic nerve resulting in blindness stroke death and the baby’s risk for the hormone issues associated with this gland are not good at all so I decided to have an abortion for my safety and my child’s as this was my first pregnancy.
I discussed it with my boyfriend who after listening to my reasoning said he agreed for safety purposes it was the best decision however then proceeds to tell me that I may as well throw myself down a flight of stairs or let someone punch me in the stomach…I was shocked I could conceive to begin with angry because I was adopted and wanted nothing more than to be a mother and have children of my own and repulsed he would say such a thing.
I reproach the subject again and have many discussions about if he feels resentment or his family All claimed to support this decision. My mother and father supported this decision and they are very much against the ideology behind abortion but even after the insurance company deemed it medical necessary they understood the risks. I had the abortion yesterday with supposed twilight sedation but I was coherent for everything..I felt every piece of what happened. I looked nothing like the women whom underwent the procedure groggy and disoriented. The worse part was the doctor who performed It was a horrible person. Upon seeing me perhaps due to my age she asked how a pituitary gland tumor could even hurt me and how did I know I even had Lupus almost as though I was some hypochondriac who used my ailments as a crutch which rest assured I do not. I work full time support a house and take care of my mother whom has osteoporosis and go onward no matter what I feel physically..you just have to go on.
After the procedure was over I cried and felt as though the doctor who performed this just looked at me like a piece of garbage despite a neurologist telling me the risks involved I found it highly unethical and hurtful. Now my boyfriend and I are arguing majorly..it has been less than twenty four hours and he was wanting me to come over for a sleepover and face his entire family after discussing with him after the traumatic experience I needed to absorb this all and proceeded to become very rude and hateful and honestly I have so much anger towards him for being so rude and I expressed how selfish it was for him to pressure me and to which he replied I need to move past this. I have to go to work in less than 10 hours and I lie awake after fighting with him for three hours tonight and trying to explain he had no idea what I endured yesterday but he doesn’t seem to comprehend that and the fact i have brain surgery in less than a month. Is it wrong for me to harbor so many Ill feelings ? Thank you
At best, your boyfriend is clueless. He may be worse, including being totally insensitive, self-absorbed, or even cruel. (Suggesting physically abusing your body to induce a miscarriage is, to save money(?), is crazy dangerous and certainly unloving!)
Frankly, if all that you have written about him is on the mark, I have no idea why you would want to have him in your life anymore. Does he truly love you? Or are you just someone he can use to fill his own desires and needs?
Regarding the emotional grief of having an abortion, what you are going through is very common. It is especially true that women who have abortions because of health reasons often suffer immense grief and loss. In better circumstances, you would have welcomed your baby. But instead, your health condition had you fearing for both you and your baby and you felt you had no choice. You felt powerless and were acting against what your heart’s desire really was (to have your child) because you felt caught up in a situation where you had no other practical choice.
None of that, however, changes the fact that you lost a child and are now going through a grieving process as deep as anyone else experiences when they lose a child. The problem is that so many people around you, including your boyfriend, imagine that it was just a minor surgery, like getting an ingrown toe-nail fixed, that you should just “get over.” They are either clueless or insensitive. You might suggest he and others read the testimonies of other women who have gone through the loss of an abortion, but the truly important thing to do is to get help and support for yourself.
Please call one of the hotlines on our page of tips and resources for finding post-abortion counseling program that is right for you. You need the support of women who have been through a similar loss and have learned how to help each other through the grief and healing process.
This is a very deep wound for you. Don’t try to “tough it out” alone. There are many resources to help you. Maybe the first group you reach out to will be perfect for you. But if not, there are many others that you can also turn to.
Don’t give up hope. Don’t give into despair. Don’t listen to people like your boyfriend who just want you to bury it deep and “forget about it” because then it will just fester and explode in some other area of your life. Reach out and get some good support and counseling.
You are in my prayers.
Dear Samantha,
My heart goes out to you. You CAN take on giving birth to this little life of yours. Others are so much more articulate but I want you to know that my five little kids and I and my husband are praying for you.
Dear Samantha,
You are not pregnant by accident. You are with child by design. “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. You were in My Care before you were born.” “I have Loved you with an Ever-Lasting Love; therefore, with Loving Kindness I have drawn you to Myself.” “Come unto Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you My Rest – Peace, Love, Joy, New Life!” LIFE – Myra’s Story: http://www.youtube.com/user/myoomy1
Hi Samantha,
My name is Allison. I work in Project Rachel Post-abortive Healing Ministry which helps women and men suffering from the wounds of an abortion decision. I have worked with many women and men who hurt from a past abortion. They often say that what they knew after the abortion was much different than what they knew before it and if they could go back, they would undo it.
I certainly understand your desire to make this all go away. When I am in pain, I want it to go away. It is natural for you and your boyfriend to think that abortion is best because it may “solve” some of your immediate concerns and you may even feel relief afterwards because the problem seems to be gone. But … you most likely will feel a sorrow and pain later that you never imagined. I have truly never met anyone who, when faced with an unplanned pregnancy and chose life, regretted it, but I have met many who regret their abortions. When I have met someone who thinks that an abortion is the answer, I ask them to go on sites like Silent No More and find testimonies of women (and for your boyfriend of men) who were in a similar situation. Read them and imagine yourself after the abortion. I think it may give you a glimpse of what your life will be.
I am Catholic and I am going to offer up my Mass for you this Sunday and mention you in my prayers at every daily Mass I attend this week.
God bless you Samantha.
Sincerely,
Allison
It sounds like you are facing an incredibly difficult decision Samantha.
Every year, thousands of women just like you face the crisis of an unintended pregnancy. And every year women go without the necessary support to be able to process their decision.
I have provided support to countless women, and their partners who are processing their unintended pregnancy decision, and I can say that no two stories are the same, and every decision needs to include the factors that are most important to you.
The same unbiased support that I provide to my clients in person, I can extend to you.
I would be happy to walk you through a discussion that will enable you to process your decision enabling you to make an fully informed decision. I also have an evidenced based tool that I could walk you through called My Decision Aid, which will give you a framework to consider the factors in your decision.
If you are interested in having an unbiased, confidential conversation (free of charge) please do not hesitate to contact me at info@firstplaceoptions.ca. To learn more about the services we provide, you are also welcome to check out our website at http://www.firstplaceoptions.ca.
I look forward to hearing from you,
Marlene
Dear Samantha,
I want you to keep only ONE thing in mind: whatever your decision is to keep or abort your baby, YOU ARE A MOTHER FOREVER!!! In the moment of conception, God has created an indestructible soul, that no doctor can kill. So, it is much better if you enjoy the fruit of your womb. I’ve seen several single mothers who have kept their babies, and despite the difficulties, they never repented the most beautiful choice of their life: TO BRING THEIR BABY TO LIFE.
Please, CHOOSE LIFE for your BABY and for YOURSELF! Leave it all in God’s hands and HE will work it out the best way! Nothing is impossible to God!!!
Praying for you three!
Katerina from Albania
Hi Samantha
I see that there are so many people supporting you, and giving you sound advice. Please consider how much these people love you and your unborn child. And God loves you and your baby even more than you know. I will pray that you too will love your unborn baby and give him/her the opportunity to continue living. Please cling on to God during this difficult time.
Dear Samantha,
So much has already been said. The question is what are you hearing? I was once in your situation. I chose to submit my child and my self to the horror of abortion. I did not realize until it was too late, that abortion meant the tearing apart of my child’s body inside of me. After the abortion, nothing else mattered. I was only pregnant once, I did not get a second chance. You Samantha have so much more going for you than I ever did. I listen to all that you have going for you and I am filled with hope! There is a new life growing inside of you. No matter what you do or don’t do for this child, he or she will love you for ever because you are his Mommy. The word of God tells us that we have everything we need for life and godliness. If you have faith, you have all you will ever need.
Samantha,
In addition your choice of having the baby remember your soon to be child has no choice. You may not be able to financially afford the baby by your self but their are pregnancy centers and public assistance programs that can assist you until you are able to do what you need and want for your child. I would recommend calling 211 or going online to 211 website to look in their database at resources that can assist you. Remember the child has no voice as soon to be mom you can be the voice, obtain an outside family support system and ask God to help you. In your spare time go in the bible in read about Hannah.
Samantha,
Everyone has given you such good advice so I will be brief. You will regret the loss of your child for the rest of your life. You will never regret having him and will rejoice no matter the financial hardships, you will find a way. You are not ruining your boyfriends life, you and his baby are probably saving it. If your parents truly understood Catholic theology, they too would stand by you in having this child. I had two abortions and I regret and grieve for my babies daily and it’s been 40 years. You do not want to go through that. I am Catholic and my daughter became pregnant in collage, unmarried. We have stood by her and she had a beautiful two year old son who is the joy of all our lives. I told my daughter, there is NEVER a good time to have a baby and babies are ALWAYS a blessing. Please say yes to this beautiful gift from God. I will pray for you, your babies father and your beautiful child that exists right now inside you. You are already a mother. Sending love your way,
I will just add a word of encouragement that having your child is the best choice – and so many parents who did not want children come to love them dearly when they come. To talk to someone 24/7 and get referrals for local resources, please call the Option Line 800-712-HELP.
Dear Samantha,
I have counselled post-abortive women and pregnant women for decades. I have never met a woman who regretted her choice to keep her baby, and sadly I have met far too many who regretted their abortions.
I know my choice to keep my son is a decision I thank God for every day, and I now have four gorgeous grandchildren and a lovely daughter-in-law to thank God for too. Your child immortalizes your love for each other, and your love will multiply through the generations born from your love.
You can not imagine the joy your child will bring to your lives, nor the pain and heartache an abortion would bring.
I will certainly keep you all in my prayers.
You can always find a couple or family who would love to adopt your precious baby. God Bless you!
Sounds like you have a pretty good grasp on the downsides of having an abortion, Samantha.
I know I speak for most of the people here when I say I wish I was back in your shoes so I could make a different choice than I did.
If you’d like some more perspectives, I’d like to invite you to a Facebook Page called “I Regret My Abortion”. The stories speak for themselves.
Dear Samantha,
I will be praying for your precious family. Your words ring out clearly that you already feel connected to your little one who is growing inside you. I agree with some of the other posters that your baby’s father will eventually come around and celebrate the existence of his child. I also agree with the posters that the potential resentment you will feel toward your boyfriend if you do have an abortion will far outweigh the resentment he might feel toward you if you have the baby. In fact, I suspect that he will actually someday be extremely grateful that you DIDN’T abort.
Years ago, I chose to birth my baby rather than abort him, as my boyfriend wanted. My son is now 36 years old and has two little ones of his own. I shudder to think that none of them would be here if I had followed the wishes of my boyfriend. Instead, I followed what I knew in my heart to be right. I am so incredibly grateful that I did. I have never once regretted that decision.
Be strong…for you, for your baby, and for your boyfriend.
God bless you.
Sharon
I will pray that you make a right decision. It is always hard to comprehend when you feel so pulled. May I tell you about my Grandson. He came home home at 21 from a job that did not pan out and with a girlfriend. 3 weeks later they realize they are pregnant and we are all Catholic. We all rallied he found a job and she stayed and had the baby. Today they have just had child two. They have both matured and have the most beautiful children. They needed help but accepted it. Please do not let the joy of this child escape you. Go to Birthright or Right to Life to get you in touch with people to help. Love and blessings
Dear Samantha:
My thoughts are with you, your boyfriend and your baby. You are not alone though in your difficult situation, it seems that you are. I know that in this culture you are given the idea that if you are pregnant and in crisis, an abortion is an easy answer. It may seem to be such. It may “free” you technically of the responsibility of a baby but it probably won’t free you emotionally or spiritualy. Also, you shared that you are at an age that you may never conceive again. Few women can conceive in their forties even when they try. I know that from my own personal experience. My prayers are that God’s perfect will shallbe done in your ENTIRE situation. You can reach out for help.
There are many pregnancy resource centers in just about every county. Their services are all free to you. They provide pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, maternity clothes, baby clothes, toys, many referral services, counseling, and much more. They also help men who are facing unplanned pregnancies of girlfriends or wives. All services are confidential. They put you at the center of all they do. You can visit this website: http://optionline.org, and type in your zip code at the top of the page, and you will be find the address of your closest pregnancy resource center. On the webpage you will find a 24/7 hotline where you can call a crisis counselor and get connected with a pregnancy resource center. You are not alone!
Praying 4 You,
Lisa DeSherlia
Samantha, no one is ever ready for an unexpected pregnancy….. This baby will bring you tears and unimagined joy. An abortion will only bring you tears. I had one abortion, two miscarriages and 4 living children….. I have NEVER regretted having my children. I am praying for you and your boyfriend
Dear Samantha,
I worked for many years at a pregnancy resource center in my area and saw many young women and men helped work through their unplanned pregnancy. They are welcoming, compassionate and will not judge you. They have so many resources available to pregnant women. I would urge you to check them out and get a free ultrasound. That may help you. Don’t give up on your parents. I have spoken to many grandparents that lost a grandchild to abortion and were devastated on finding that out later. They may be upset at first, but I have never known anyone who didn’t like a baby. Just give them time. Most important be true to your heart. You will suffer greatly with a decision that goes against your heart. Help is available-you need to look for it.
Samantha,
You are worrying about your fiancé resenting you if you have the baby. You have no control over his feelings, but you do have control over yours. How will you feel toward him if you have an abortion? Most people worry about how the other will feel, but in the end, how we feel is what we have to live with the rest of our lives. I’ve had an abortion and I have children. The former gave me self hate, the latter joy.
I prayed for you at Mass today, and look forward to the opportunity to continue doing so. Naturally everyone on this site will encourage you not to abort your child…and of course I join in their encouragement.
I agree with Nel and others…ask for help.
I agree with all those who’ve experienced the termination of a pregnancy — I did, at age 16. And never quite got over it, even though I know I’ve been forgiven.
To put it bluntly? Don’t do it.
To put it lovingly? We’re with you.
May you continue to be blessed,
Kelly
Hi Samantha, first in most congratulation with your baby.. This is a gift from God that we are all of just like you and I we’re born so should your baby. I too had abortions and had to live with shame and guilt for almost 20yrs. My life was not stable one bit. The deceive of more money, career, and lone time was over crowding my mind than reality I was going to me a mom and it was going to be the best thing that could happen since it’s God who creates us. But as you know I didnt do a wise nor right choose. There is adoption as an option, still holding and loving your baby is a life changer with all the right ways..
my best to you both and I will keep you all in prayer.
Blessings
Dear Samantha,
Sometimes our hearts know things that our minds don’t want to accept. My dear, you would not be crying about the possibility of abortion if in your heart, you really wanted abortion. You’re crying because you don’t want abortion – YOU DON’T WANT IT. That’s the answer to your dilemma: your heart knows what you want and do not want.
Your boyfriend’s health problem, your studies, your financial situation – these are all temporary problems that have solutions. They are temporary situations that will change.
Abortion is a permanent decision. There’s no going back from it. Even if you got pregnant again, you would never have THIS baby again, this chance for unconditional love for and from THIS child.
We make a mistake when we try to solve a temporary problem – a bad time in a good relationship; some financial difficulties – by doing something permanently irrevocable (ending the relationship instead of enduring the bad time; ending a child’s life instead of solving the financial problem).
Your financial difficulties and so on will pass; you and your boyfriend, your family and friends WILL help you resolve all those practical problems so you can stop crying and you and your boyfriend, families and friends can joyfully accept and love your baby.
All those practical, ‘logical’ problems have practical, logical solutions – and nobody has to die and nobody has to suffer a lifetime of regret and sorrow.
Please, try to see that the death of your child is not the solution to a temporary financial problem or a temporary health problem in your boyfriend, or a temporary time of great busyness in your life. A child is not a problem; your baby is not the problem – finances, health, misgivings about being ready for parenthood – those are your problems.
Almost every parent has misgivings about bringing a child into the world, changing their lifestyle, their ability to raise a child and their ability to be responsible financially and otherwise for a child. That’s just how it is when people get pregnant. It doesn’t matter if it’s your first child or your fifth child: you have misgivings about what could happen in the future, how you’ll cope, etc.
Take your practical problems step-by-step; ask for help if you need it to solve those problems so you can have your baby. People will help. You’ll be surprised, so surprised, by the joy that awaits you when you have this baby, and so surprised by how helpful and kind and giving people can be to support you as you go through your pregnancy.
Dear ONE,
Please don’t think / worry about what may happen. Just pray and do what you know God wants. If you leave God’s will out of your decision, you will have one miserable life. AS St. Peter says, “Cast all your cares on the Lord for He cares for you.” No one loves you more that He does.
Dear Samantha, may God grant you wisdom and peace. My fear is that it is way too easy to make decisions we will regret the rest of our lives, such as stopping a life because … fill in the blank.
When i found myself pregnant at the age of 40, with my youngest of four children 11 years old, i was horrified! Today, my delightful fifth child, a daughter, is 26 years old and one of the best things that ever happened to our family. Fear not, the Lord will help you in surprising ways, if you just ask Him to. with love, a mom and grandma
Dear Samantha,
I’m so sorry you’re faced with a hard situation. I was too in my 20’s. I made the HUGE mistake of having an abortion. At the time, it may have seemed to solve the problem. BUT, it solved nothing. It made an absolute mess out my life for the following 36 years. I drank too much; became very promiscuous; couldn’t make a relationship work; started overeating; was full of shame and guilt for years; and had 2 more abortions and a miscarriage. That first abortion did NOTHING to improve my life.
I’ll keep you in my prayers.
Susan
Dear Samantha,
You will regret having an abortion every day of your life. I have severe post-traumatic stress disorder, as a result of an abortion. Do you know if your child is a girl or a boy? Have you named her/him? These are the kinds of thoughts that may haunt you. If you really feel that you cannot handle your child at this point in your life, you may consider sharing him/her through the process of adoption. There are so many ways to remedy this situation without being aborted. Have you read any books about women who have aborted? They are filled with TRUTH – pain, grief, sadness, questions about the baby. Trust me, having an abortion will ruin your life a whole lot more than having a baby. the abortion ruined my life. 96% of all relationships pretty much die along with the baby. It’s just too fracturing. If you can find a copy of The Mourning After by Terry Selby, or any of David Reardon’s book, or the book Will I Cry Tomorrow by Susan Sanford-Rue, you will read more about this experience than you want to, but you will learn how bad it can actually get. Physically, your uterus will get scar tissue and you will have problems conceiving later. Emotionally & Spiritually, you will be affected. I cried almost nightly for four years. I rarely slept, and I need to go to a facility for two weeks to help with the healing process, then spent years having EMDR to handle the trauma. All the treatment cost money, and I was too sick to work. PLEASE consider the big picture. If your partner cannot support your decision, maybe he is really not your partner.
Dear Samantha,
I am so glad you reached out for advice at this website. It’s not accident that you came across this website. I know that it is a scary time because of the unknowns and uncertainties. You indicate that you are not financially ready to have a baby. That is one of the most common concerns that I hear when an unexpected pregnancy occurs. No matter your financial situation, you will find the means to financially support yourself and your baby. It always works its way out.
If you do choose abortion, you will highly likely experience post-abortion trauma and stress and yes, it will almost certainly cause you to resent your fiancé. Abortion takes a terrible toll on us mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, and sometimes physically as well.
As a woman who has experienced abortion myself because I didn’t feel I was ready to raise a child, it has been the most painful and regretful choice of my life. You think that you will be able to go on with your life, but especially because you want your baby, you will most likely regret it and experience years of grief, loss, guilt and shame.
Don’t let anyone encourage not to have your baby. Your baby needs you and is depending on you to give him/her life. God allowed you to get pregnant and your child will be a beautiful gift to you. You can do this Samantha!! Find support from a local pregnancy resource center in your area to walk with you through this. You are a mommy now even though you can’t see or feel you baby yet. I don’t want you to live with years of hurt and pain do to one decision made our of fear. It will stay with you for a lifetime. I want to encourage you to choose life for your precious little one. You won’t regret choosing life, but you will regret choosing abortion.
I now help women who experience abortion and it breaks my heart to continually hear over and over their stories of brokenness because they choose abortion. I have recently been communicating with a women about your age who choose abortion because her fiancé didn’t want the baby. She is so sad now and is resentful at her fiancé and the relationship is suffering a great deal. But she is suffering every day and missing her baby.
I am praying for you Samantha!!! God will get you through this. Just all on Him.
Sincerely,
Karen
Dear Samantha,
You and your fiancé are already a family of three. I hope that you both embrace this gift that God has given you. You will always be a mother to this child. I pray that you trust and find the assistance that is out there to help your family grow. Making a decision to abort the baby is a life long decision that will be with you forever. I know as I was there once and made the mistake of aborting and it was 40 yrs ago. Be calm and don’t be afraid. You can be the mother to this child and hold it in your arms, this child has potential to bring much joy into your life. Peace sister.
Nancy B
Focus on the life growing inside of you and not all the issues you think a pregnancy may cause. Holding a new life in your and your fiance’s hands will let you know that all the troubles in life cannot compare to the love given in life from your own child. With or without a child life is a struggle. Without leads to regret. With helps build a family and love.
Dear Samantha:
In your heart, you know that protecting that innocent baby is the right thing to do. That baby will be the greatest blessing of your life, regardless of what the situation feels like right now.
May the Lord give you courage to walk through this moment.
David
I just found out this week that I’m 4 weeks pregnant. I took multiple home tests and saw a doctor. I’m pregnant. My boyfriend and I have been together almost two years, and just recently he proposed two weeks prior to us finding out we were pregnant. He told me from the beginning that he did not want kids, and my position was I’m indifferent. If it happens, it happens. But having kids was not on my agenda anytime soon. That answer was good enough for him. We are both 34 years old, never married, and never have had children. We just moved in together and things have been going well until our baby news. We were both floored and shocked, we were safe and then this happened.
I want the baby but I am not financially ready to take care of one, nor is he. He has some health concerns he’s trying to figure out, and I’m currently working full-time and in school. He’s told me he does not want the baby, and doesn’t feel we are ready for one. He also said if that’s what I wanted he would be there for me. I agree we are not ready for one, we both are trying to keep afloat as it is, and having a baby would put on so much more stress.
However, I feel if I have an abortion that this could be my last time to get pregnant; I’m in my mid-thirties. I’m also worried about the post-abortion stress and resenting my boyfriend, and if our relationship will overcome this. Although he says he would be there, I truly feel like he would then resent me for ruining his life because I know that is not what he wanted. My family would not be supportive, because they are Catholic and know I’m not financially ready for one. I feel that abortion is logical answer, but still not sure. I’m scared and having been crying all week, and just found this site to release some stress and maybe get some advice.
Dear Samantha,
Please review the list of risk factors that identify women at greatest risk of more severe emotional problems after an abortion. These have been confirmed by the American Psychological association. You have mentioned several things that indicate you are at higher risk, including your own wish to keep the baby, including your ambivalence, the conflicting views of your boyfriend and parents, and the fact that having abortion is the “logical” thing even though it doesn’t resonate with everything you feel and believe.
Let me say one thing. Once the child is born, your fiance will never resent having this child in your lives. Children grow into one’s heart. Many, many women and men regret their abortions. Very few ever regret having their children. (They may pull their hair out and wonder about it during a few tough teen years! But that’s why we grow to love them so much when they are little, to help us get through those teen years!) And as important as anything, if this was the last and only time you ever became pregnant, you would indeed regret this abortion even more in your old age when you are longing for the children and grandchildren you never had.
Also, the finances will all work out, and there are many resources and programs to help couples with young children . . . and even the stresses of an unplanned prengnacy.
If abortion simply turned back the clock and put things back to the way they were before one became pregnant, it would indeed be the logical thing to do . . . if you wanted to turn back time. But it doesn’t. Your life is already changed. You are already physically and emotionally a mother. The only question is whether you will ever get to hold your baby and see your child grow, or will you be left wondering about the baby that was never born like all the women who have miscarriages and abortions.
As you can see in the testimonies here, for many women abortion is the experience they most grieve and regret in their lives. If you did have an abortion, I pray you will not suffer as they have, but there is a real risk that you may. I don’t think it’s worth that risk . . . or even lesser grief and regrets, especially when most people who carry an unplanned baby to term will tell you they are 110% glad that they did.
Your child is an unexpected blessing. He or she is also a responsibility and a lot of work that will help you and your fiance to both grow as persons into more loving and caring and responsible people. Don’t reject this gift. Be bold in accepting it and starting out on this new adventure. You may have not chosen this adventure, at this time, but that is in part what makes it a true adventure! Accepting this challenge when it comes to you.
Trust me. Your fiance may not be excited and may grumble, but if he truly loves you then he truly will follow through on what he said and will stand by you during this pregnancy. And then, not because of you, but because of the sweet love and innocence of his child, he will one day thank you profusely for bringing his child into the world despite his misgivings. In this your heart is wiser than his. For men, the idea of a baby is still a bit abstract while it is still in the womb. He doesn’t experience the baby as a living, growing life inside him. It’s just an idea that only truly “feels real” when he finally sees the baby born. That is when his heart will be transformed. Trust me on that. He will become FAR more excited about this baby once he sees and hold it. Until then, be the wise one who confidently knows that it will all work out of the best.
You are in our prayers! In your heart, you are blessed to already know that this baby is a gift . . . maybe one that is arriving earlier than expected . . . but still a gift. Don’t risk all the regrets and grief that comes to those who have rejected such a gift and would now do anything to undue that mistake. Accept your gift, protect your gift, and reassure your fiance that one day he will be thanking you for your wisdom.
Oh, Dear. You feel like your life is going to be over, but it won’t. You can get a new life and it will be better than before, better than anything you had planned.
Obviously, you don’t want an abortion. Your baby is growing so fast right now.
When I got pregnant the first time, I was being used as a mistress of sorts. He said he’d kill me if I didn’t abort. In order to get away from this small time crime boss, I had to fake an abortion. Saving my baby saved my life. Maybe saving your baby will save your life too.
I’m praying for you.
Samantha, I’m Amy.. nice to meet you.
I’m so sorry to hear what you are going through at the moment with such a big life choice to make. I want to encourage you.
I am 35 and just had my first son. I had 4 abortions in my past and it did not go well for me. I always believed that my age, or my financial situation were more important but I paid the price.
Although I finally forgave myself the regret never left me. I would have an 18 year right now, but I don’t.
My baby boy Evan is such an adorable young man. He is about to turn 1. I won’t pretend it is easy, financially or emotionally. But I wouldn’t change it for the world because he is a precious human and even though now, as he is young, it can be very tiring and sometimes stressful. I think to myself “one day he will be a man. He will love people, he will contribute to society, he will have hopes and dreams, he will hurt and he will cry, he will travel, he will marry and have his own children”
So thinking of all that makes me realise there is a bigger picture involved. Sure we can always have more money, or more time or a better social life. But so what? Life is short.
The best thing about having my son is the family aspect, it’s beautiful to see what a blessing my son is to his grandparents and aunties and uncles. He has given them a renewed lease on life.
Please consider that what I have shared is the reality of having a child.
I used to be terrified of childbirth. Will it hurt and will I cope. I was very anxious and my beautiful doctor suggested an epidural. She said “you don’t have to be a hero. all you need to do is do what’s best for you.”
Best decision I ever made. It didn’t hurt much at all and I was relaxed and calm. IT was actually an enjoyable experience and I thought what a waste of all these years I was trying to avoid the pain of childbirth and i worked myself up to think it was worse than it was.
Giving birth was actually one of the most memorable days of my life.
So I will be praying for you and I know you will be provided for in each and every way. Bless you and your child.
Love Amy
http://www.belovedjoy.org
Dear Samantha,
It is very, very unlikely your relationship would survive an abortion. You don’t want one. Don’t have one. Your partner will probably not feel positive toward your child right away. It usually takes guys longer. They have to feel movement, or hear a heartbeat, or see an ultrasound. We have concrete evidence much earlier, and we unconsciously bond with our babies a few hours after conception. There are hormonal messages exchanged.
There are organizations that will help you with your needs. Please visit http://www.optionline.org to find an organization in your area. This baby is not an accident. We don’t know God’s purpose, but I can tell you that God gives us children as a blessing, and now that we are older and sometimes need help, our children are there for us. We couldn’t have made it without them.
As for what you are currently doing, I was going to school when I had one of my children. I was out a week in the middle of the semester, for the birth, and made straight A’s for the semester. If I can do it, you can, too. You are probably right that you will not have another child, and you will regret an abortion for the rest of your life.
You’ll just have to take one day at a time, and God will provide. This is God’s gift, and He knows your needs far better than you do. Try to trust in Him. Pray. Seek God’s natural remedies for your fiance’s health problems. Try to do God’s will. We aren’t allowed to decide the moment of death for anyone; that’s God’s decision, and we especially are not allowed to decide the moment of death for our children. Your baby already has fingers and eyes, and brain waves and a heartbeat.
This isn’t about logic. God transcends logic. And remember, abortion can kill or seriously harm you, and will leave medical damage regardless, because God designed our bodies to protect our children, and the only way we can overcome that is to harm our body. Please protect your baby.
Dear Samantha – I will be praying for you, your boyfriend, and your baby. I was pregnant during my freshman year of college and did not choose life for my baby. I is a decision I have regretted my entire life. I married the baby’s father a few years later, but our relationship was never the same. I suffered from post-abortion stress when I didn’t know what that was. It was horrible – I also did not know how my family would feel. I carried the shame and grief with me for over 20 years until I was able to talk to my husband about it. He never knew how deeply it had affected me. I think the grief he had from that caused him to become an alcoholic and he died of liver failure and a broken heart a few years later. When I was pregnant, I was very scared. I did not know there were so many resources to help. Over 25 years after I had my abortion, I told my mom and my sister and both of them said they would have loved me unconditionally and been there for me if I had come to them. I would prayerfully speak to family and a local pregnancy resource center, like CareNet, for help and advice I have worked as a volunteer in post-abortion ministry for many years – women have come to these groups seeking healing from deep regret and wishing they’d explored other options like adoption if unable to support the baby on their own. optionline.org is a resource that can help you find a pregnancy center near where you live. You can call, e-mail or live chat. I will be praying for you.
Samantha, praying for all three of you…. God Bless!
Dear Samantha,
Trust that your pregnancy is God’s plan for you and your boyfriend. Children are a blessing. Please choose life for your baby. There are many organizations that will give you financial support and there are also many couples who are infertile and very much want to adopt a baby. God will provide. Please go to vitaefoundation.org and click on help center to find a center near you that will help you.
If your family is Catholic, tell them and talk to a priest. The Catholic church always chooses life. The Catholic church teaches that abortion is an intrinsic evil. It’s the killing of an innocent life, which is always wrong. You don’t have to be Catholic to talk to a priest. Please go to your nearest Catholic Church and talk to a priest. He will be able to help you.
I’m a mother with 5 children. I’m also Catholic. My oldest is in College and my youngest is 3. My 3 year old was born with a major heart defect and had to undergo a life or death surgery at birth. We’re so blessed the surgery was successful and he is doing well. What I’ve learned is there’s really no such thing as a planned pregnancy. It’s always been God’s timing. We’ve had miscarriages along the way, so it hasn’t been easy for us.
Know that my family and I will be praying for you. Finances have been tough for us, but God has always provided. If the only way to save your baby would be for us to adopt it, my husband and I would. If you don’t feel that you could raise your baby, please choose life and choose adoption for your baby. Adoption is loving your baby.
Love and prayers,
Beatrice
Dear Samantha
I understand your concern, but now you have one more reason to live and give your best every day to be a better human being and take care of your finances. Money is not everything, we can buy many things, but love cannot be bought, you have the opportunity to live the best experience that anybody ever could, to be a mother and to have a family with your couple. Be brave! It is worth it. I have two children and twenty-six years of living with my wife and it is the greatest experience of my life. Sometimes we were short of money, but we have always make it because our goal has been our children and our union, that is: the family. I ask God may give you strength so that you and your partner say yes to life.
Dear Samantha:
God has blessed you with this baby and you are already a mother! You are right to feel this is your last chance to conceive especially at your age. My husband forced me to abort our third child in May of 1971, she was 14 weeks, I saw her in Blessed Mother’s arms on Mother’s Day of 2000, the year I became a Catholic, and can’t wait to hold her in my arms in Heaven if I make it there. I regret not having stood up to her father every single moment of my life, more so as I get older and I am not 71 years old. This horrendous event tore apart our marriage and family and I pray for my husband’s (divorced) darkened soul!!! God bless you with the only decision of not killing your precious child as you will see when you hold him/her in your arm!!
In Holy Love, Holy Truth,
Jennifer
Hello Samantha,
I will be praying for you.
Please read my poem..”Mommy,please let me live.” At http://www.aborterrorism.ca
Please remember, every life…in the womb and outside the womb is so…so…precious.
You are so blessed to be pregnant….that child you are lovingly carrying will be such a blessing to both of you.
With my prayers,
Donald Andre Bruneau.
Hi Samantha. Don’t worry about your boyfriend potentially resenting having a baby. Why is it ‘your fault’ anyway? It takes two to tango and all contraception has a failure rate. He needs to step up to his share of responsibility in this situation.
Most importantly, like most dads of unplanned pregnancies, chances are he will be smitten with his little son/daughter the moment he lays eyes on him/her. Becoming a dad can really have a powerful transforming effect on a man, even if he didn’t plan for it.
Finances will sort themselves out. Believe me, you’ll get through it with a bit of planning and frugality, as countless people before you have done.
If your family is Catholic, then even if your child is born outside of wedlock or whatever, they should applaud your courage in keeping the child and should support your life-giving decision, wholeheartedly and in practical ways. I have actually witnessed this type of positive reaction before, even when the woman thought her family would reject her.
At the end of the day, all those worries melt away in perspective when you consider the most important issues, one of which you have already identified: this is a baby, a real baby; it is your baby, which already makes you a mother; you don’t know when or whether you will ever have another child; and could you really bring yourself to harm your own child, however small he or she is?
Have courage. Try to clear your mind of other people’s expectations and go ahead, be bold, and do what you feel is right! You WILL get through it, you can do it and you and your baby WILL thrive!
Hi Samantha – you and your boyfriend certainly have a lot going on. Have you been to a pregnancy care center in your area? I’d be happy to connect you with one. Have you given any consideration to an open adoption? I know how uncertain and overwhelming times like this can be, I’ve been in your shoes. A lot of things can be worked out in the next 8 months. Pregnancy care centers offer amazing and free services. I truly wish I had had their services when I was in your situation. My daughter, our first born, would have been 35 years old this past week. I’ve been through what you called abortion stress and I do not wish it on anyone. You are stronger than you think. Talk to your family, I’m sure they’ll be more supportive than you think. They may be disappointed with your circumstances but might be more helpful than you think. But at least please considering meeting with the PRC and/or adoption counselor to know all of your options. Beautiful things can come it of adversity and challenges! Stay strong honey!
Here is Amy’s story. A young woman with a one year old; partner abandons her on Christmas Eve, then she finds out she is pregnant. Turmoil ensues for months; huge distress. Just before 24 weeks she finally decides to continue with pregnancy. She is in college; has the support of her ex’s mother. All of us hugely relieved when she eventually decides to continue. Molly arrives and thrives; Amy continues with education, with her family taking care of the baby and toddler; Amy decides to become a midwife, and is currently on a course to do that.
There will be others who will want to be involved and to help in your difficult circumstances. It’s not the end of the world. It’s the beginning of a new phase of life, that is hard work, but joy-filled. Logic doesn’t come into the equation, as your body and emotions are geared up for bearing a child. It’s not like having a tooth out, or having a cyst removed.
Talk to those who will listen and understand. Listen to your heart. And cry out to God, you will find Him there to hear and to help
Dear Samantha, often men are slower in responding to news that they are a father. It seems to be a common occurrence yet when they become connected to the reality, they completely change. If he proposed he loves you. Have you accepted? Fear is natural but it passes.Crisis and worries pass but regret doesn’t. I’m praying for the 3 of you. Let it be and embrace the gift of the little one you have been sent! So many women long for what you have. Protect your family and love. You will have no regrets. Trust Jesus. He is real. I know. He has made Himself known to me. If He is real then you can know all is good. Enjoy the family you are ! It gets better. Family is the only way to heal for your fiance. You will walk that road with him. Much love to you x
Dear Samantha,
May I pray for you? “Father, in Jesus Name, I lift up Samantha and her fiance to You. I pray that You would give them both wisdom in this life changing decision of life or death for the child You have blessed them with. Give Samantha and her fiance peace and comfort, for You are their Prince of Peace, during this difficult time. Lead them to seek help and information about all 4 of their choices in this situation. Give me the right words Holy Spirit to explain to Samantha that she has 4 choices to choose from, not just one. Hold her close to Your heart during this time of decision and throughout her whole life and the life of her precious baby living inside her, who has its own separate precious life You have created. Amen.”
My name is Nona Ellington, who had an abortion at age 15, now unable to have children as a result of that abortion. Instead I had 5 miscarriages, with 3 of them tubal pregnancies that required emergency surgery & very near death experiences. I also suffered through breast cancer 2 years ago, which I believe was also a direct result of that abortion. Huge price to pay to never be able to be a mother of a living child on earth. I am now 47 years old, with a message of LIFE for anyone who will hear my heart that abortion hurts women. I won’t go into all the details of the emotional and spiritual hell I’ve been through since age 15, but I will say I’ve been suicidal more than once. Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior lifted me out of depression and picked up the broken pieces of my heart & continues to to this very day. Your 4 choices are: 1.keep your baby & raise it with your baby’s father(there is financial help available to you with this option) 2. Carry your baby to term, then release your baby for adoption to loving parents that you will choose, who will pay for everything & you can choose open adoption, where you can keep up with the life of your child or closed adoption, where everything will still be payed for & you choose the parents, but no further contact after birth, with both of these choices you can change your mind a month or two after delivery, depending on your state 3. Carry your child to term, then release your child to the care of your state by taking your born baby to a hospital, fire department or police department or any other public agency, you will not be held responsible or punished because of the “Baby Moses and Safe Haven” laws across the nation 4. abortion, which you would need to choose from many, many choices of what kind of abortion to have done, ALL of which are very dangerous to your physical and emotional health and would end the life of your baby and very much higher risk of death for yourself compared to childbirth.
You are very loved Samantha by Jesus and by me,
Nona Ellington
http://www.eaglesrestoration.com ( go to my website for resources & spiritual help during this difficult time)
Please contact option line and call Ramah International ASAP! They offer real sincere help! Please see a crisis pregnancy center right away and really talk with them about what is all going on with your life.
Hi there,
As a woman who was deeply in love with my partner at the time I had an abortion, I can tell you for sure: abortion ruins the love that exists and ruins relationships. As a woman who had very high self-esteem before I had an abortion, I can tell you for sure: abortion ruins your self-esteem. As a woman who was mentally healthy before I had an abortion, I can tell you for sure: abortion may cause extreme trauma, post traumatic stress disorder, clinical depression, suicidal thoughts, years of grief, regret and profound loss. All of the reasons that you have to have an abortion will mean nothing at all compared to the awful realization that you were a mother, who was supposed to protect and keep safe a baby, but instead had it violently killed through abortion. I will always regret being so filled with panic and fear and denial that I chose to take the life of my own precious child. I pray for you to be brave and to take courage! I pray for you to tell your partner that you need his full support and you need him to say he will always be there as a father to his child and will help you raise a child! I pray for your unborn child, and that God will touch your heart and help you to save your child and yourself! I am sending you much love!
Me and my ex had an abortion about a month and a half ago. I assured her I would support her on any decision she made but I still let her know that I wanted to have the baby. When she had the abortion I was so sad and depressed. I didn’t eat like I used to, I stayed up a lot of nights crying in my bathroom I tried getting motivated to go to the gym with her but I didn’t even want to do that from how bad I was hurting inside. About two weeks ago we go out drinking and I lash out on her calling her every name in the book. I said a lot of things that I didn’t mean. I love her so much and she really is the woman of my dreams. She decides to break up because she felt so many negative attacks that night and that she doesn’t deserve someone calling her names like that. I don’t know what to do anymore but wish her the best and tell her that I’ll always love her. I live with a lot of regret and pain I let my anger get the best of me. I never wanted to talk to her about how I felt after the abortion because I know it must have hurt her a lot that she did that. It’s like I had all these emotions bottled up and I let them out like an idiot and said a bunch of crap I didn’t even mean. I will never be the same and she’s gone.
Hello J, I’m so sorry for your loss. Sadly, what you are describing isn’t uncommon for men.
Especially one of the partners doesn’t really want the abortion, there can be feelings of sadness, pain, anger, betrayal and resentment that build up, and it gets worse when you don’t feel like you can talk about them or express them in any way. You may feel the need to bottle them up for the sake of saving the relationship, but then they come spilling out when you don’t want them too, as you’ve discovered.
You can find a lot more information on the effects of abortion on men here, but I would also suggest talking to someone who’s been through this and/or a counselor who can help you work through these emotions. There are many groups out there who offer this kind of free, confidential support for men. You can find more information in the resources section here. If you are outside the U.S., see if a pregnancy center or pro-life ministry in your area offers such support. Also, Rachel’s Vineyard offers support through email.
Second, I recommend the book “Men and Abortion: A Path to Healing,” by CT Coyle, which addresses many of the issues you’ve described. It is based on an intervention for program for men hurting after abortion and contains practical suggestions as to how men can put these ideas into practice. It can be a good place to help you start making sense of your pain and learning how to cope with it, although it shouldn’t take the place of post-abortion counseling.
I hope this helps! Reaching out for help can be a huge and often intimidating step to take, but it is worth it.
If she won’t talk to you, J, perhaps you can write her a handwritten apology. Tell her you will look into getting help sorting through all of your own feelings about the abortion loss. Reassure her that you understand that you understand why she thought the abortion was best, and that you know she (and you) didn’t know how much it would affect you . . . but it does sometimes effect men that way (pointing her to one of the articles here, or including a copy in your letter.)
Ask her to forgive you for your outburst. You were in pain, and expressing your pain through anger and accusations was wrong . . . but also very human. Reassure her of your love for her. Indeed, you love her so much that even this pain does not diminish it. All you ask is that she understand and allow you to work through your grief. And assure her you won’t throw blame and names at her again. You want the best for her. You know her decision to abort did not involve any spite toward you, but it was a loss that you are having trouble dealing with. Can she please be patient with you? Can she please forgive you for failing to find a better way to reveal your pain?
You are both in our prayers.
My wife went out and got an abortion without me knowing. She laughed when I asked how our son was doing. I’m taking it badly. Our daughter is 9 months old and she has done a great job so far, but has found her very demanding, which is why she doesn’t want another so soon. But after this I really don’t think I love her anymore, I feel angry and resentful, physically sick and an overwhelming amount of despair. Now I don’t know what is best. If I leave her, my daughter may well end up here in Nigeria, she is white with blue eyes. I’m British.
Ian, I am so sorry for your loss. What a devastating experience for you. Many people don’t realize what a terrible impact abortion can have on men as well. Try to out reach out if you can to someone who can help you work through your pain and grief and figure out how to resolve things with your wife. Even if she is not ready or willing to talk about it, you need to do this for yourself.
I don’t know what programs, if any, are available for post-abortion counseling in Nigeria. There is an organization called Culture of Life Africa that may be able to put you in touch with someone in your area. I would definitely suggest getting in touch with Rachel’s Vineyard as they offer support through email. There is also a section on their site with articles, information, stories and support for men struggling after abortion. You can also visit the men’s page here for more information that might help you as well.
There is also a book by Dr. Catherine Coyle called Men and Abortion: A Path to Healing. One of the main themes of the book is learning how to forgive those who hurt you through the abortion. It is based on an intervention for program for men hurting after abortion and contains practical suggestions as to how men can put these ideas into practice. The book is available on Amazon.
Hi my name is Katelyn..I have two sons already one 3 year old and one 1 year old.. my and my older son is special needs and has regressive autism and lives a few days a week with his grandparents..it’s very tough having 2 boys but I love them..I work in management and work nights my older brother lives with me and works days so I can take care of my sons in the daytime….so pretty much last November I met a guy named Drew on tinder..I know that sight has a horrible rep but being a single mom I didn’t and don’t have much time for social life..anyways we talked a bit exchanged numbers and started talking a bit he met me for drinks and I was surprised to find we had almost an instant connection and a ton in common both very artistic..he’s a tattoo artist.. we are both adopted..our morals and beliefs ect ect.and very surprisingly that night he opened up about some very deep stuff..such as how how he did some prison time for dealing coke I could tell it was a touchy subject but was surprised he felt he could share it with me a complete stranger at that point..and after that just hung out at his place for a bit and he took me home..we kept talking and the next time we hung out yes we had sex..I honestly thought that would be the end of it..but no the very next day he texts me asking “where do I see things going with him?” My reply was simply that “I wasn’t really looking for a relationship right now but I’d like to just get to know him and see where things go”..honestly his next response felt like he was just saying what he knew I wanted to hear because it was pretty much..”yea I’m not looking for one either even if I wanted one its not what’s best for me right now”..interesting right?..but he also said this..can you at least promise you won’t see other guys while you’re seeing me and I promise I’m not seeing other girls either”..hmmm anyways I agreed to this sensing he was staking a claim though it was unnoficial ..he asked me to come and hang out with him that night while he tattooed his cousins..was very nice didn’t try anything just hung out and enjoyed each others company for hours and hours..we kept texting after that all the time and suddenly he just stopped replying altogether..I didn’t think much of it cause hey I met him on tinder..now let me just put this out here right now..I only knew him and was talking to him for about a week and we hooked up once..I was on protection I used the depo shot..I was a few weeks late with my next shot series because my doctors were out of it when I went to get it and just told me to take the pills instead and I’m sure I missed a few because I have a hectic life..njkp/mom of 2 and I don’t really see guys that often I take it because it makes my menstrual cycles lighter..anyways we stopped talking and I was a little bummed it’s rare that I meet Somone so similar to me..and I came to find out a little into December that I was pregnant..I was in shock and terrified and from a pretty much one night stand no less..I never believed in abortion but this really seemed like my only option at this point..another baby would have ruined my life and my career..and at least my other sons fathers had long term relationships with me..so I tried calling/texting even fb messaging him even though we weren’t friends..I know -.-.. to tell him what happened and that we needed to discuss how to handle this..his cousin and mother contacted me telling me he had entered into an at least 9 month drug rehab program/facility and I guess they were monitoring his phone for him while he was away..I was really in shock now because he seemed so put together a regular workaholic..I knew he had mention dealing drugs in his past but I never knew he used or that those demons had tracked him this far..each time I did see him I had noticed he had a drink and not like a beer or anything I mean a hard drink like jack and coke or a vodka and redbull and several and smoked a little pot here and there..so I guess I just didn’t notice how much he was struggling and he never told me he entered the rehab and I can’t blame him I can’t imagine telling Somone I may be potentially interested in that kind of thing..it would’ve probably made him feel like less of a man or revealing his life was in shambles at the moment..I was in shock and instantly regretted leaving the messages to tell him..I didn’t want to add to his hardships and I knew I couldn’t ask him to be part of this babies life it wasn’t fair to him..and I knew I didn’t have the heart to give it up for adoption we both were adopted and if he had any of the haunting questions I had growing up knew I couldn’t risk putting that child though that..having questions that might never be answered feeling like you were abandoned or wondering if they ever looked for you..I just could do it and I prayed that God would forgive me and that I could one day forgive myself for allowing this to happen..I really did and still do have a great deal of care for him even though I barely knew him..I had the abortion at about 9 weeks and felt terrible..I strongly question myself as a mother now..it’s hard for me to even look at my sons now because I killed one of my would be children..I feel so guilty..and I felt a sense of impending dread..what would happen if and when he saw those messages would he try to contact me and talk to me? would he be angry?..or would he just be like fuck it not my problem..so early this April I summoned the courage to write a letter to him and then call is drug rehab center..they immidiately put him in the phone with me..I honestly didn’t think he would remember me..I started off by saying “hi I don’t know if you remember me this is Katelyn”..his tone instantly lightened and he seemed thrilled to hear from me asking how I was doing and so on..I asked him if he knew or his family had told him anything that had happened recently and he confusingly said no..it was clear my letter had not reached him yet either..so I told him that what I had to say may be something that would be difficult for him to hear but it was his right to know..I told him how I had found out I was pregnant shortly after we stopped talking and that I had terminated the pregnancy because I couldn’t raise another child at this time..his tone instantly darkened only a few words that I’m still not sure we’re just from shock or a dying desire to escape the conversation..just “yeah..yeah..ok..yeah bye.”..I thought telling him would give me closure that I had done the right thing trying to tell him before about the pregnancy and at least telling him now since it was his right to know no matter how little I knew him at the time..it just isn’t in me to hurt another person and I had put it off long enough because of my own guilt fear and dread..but no I haven’t gotten closure I feel I made a terrible mistake giving up my child and can’t forgive myself..I feel I may or may not have ruined a potentially great relationship or friendship..he still hasn’t replied to my letter and a part of me wishes he would it feels like he doesn’t care and maybe he never did..I know what happened was hard and that neither of us wanted it to happen..but sometimes bad shit happens..I know this kind of thing has the power to destroy relationships to destroy friendships and sometimes even destroy people and it’s definitely taken its damage on me..but I still care for him it’s just hard to move forward and would hate to miss out on knowing him better because of it..but I don’t know how he feels or if he would even be willing to talk once he gets out..I know he’s trying to better his life since he’s in rehab because of a relapse and has been dealing with a 12 year crack and Herione addiction but a small part of me still hopes he cares and that he will at least write back to me in regards to my letter telling him everything that happened..please give me some advice and how to handle a partner who’s an addict but is trying to better himself..I know I only knew him a week but this whole experience is eating away at me and I wish I could move forward or at least have as mall glimmer of hope that he won’t resent me for this unfortunate event..
Katelyn, I don’t really know how you should handle your relationship with the baby’s father. But you should seek some support and counseling for yourself, to work through and heal from issues that you might have related to your abortion that might be affecting you and your relationship with your sons. Healing for yourself can put you in a better place to make the right decisions regarding the father, too.
If you haven’t already done so, I would suggest visiting our healing page to find out more about getting support and for a list of organizations that can help. It is really important to talk this out with someone and no doubt they can also help you figure out what to do about the situation with the father.
Rachel’s Vineyard is a great organization that offers support to women and men worldwide (plus they offer support through email).
He may also be hurting and need help as well, if he’s willing to accept it. There is more information on men and abortion here, including a list of organizations that offer help and counseling to men who have lost children to abortion (or he can also try Rachel’s Vineyard).
hi this is Katelyn again..so I’m feeling very depressed and very anxious all at once now..to paint a small picture like a golf ball is lodged in my throat or my chest for 2 reasons..just as I thought I was getting some closure with this feeling saddened by my choice but still feeling it was right given the situation to have the abortion and telling the guy early in April because I felt it was his right to know..I didn’t think I would hear anything else from that point..but just last Saturday I found in my graveyard Mail on fb letters from him while he was still in rehab saying this “Hey I’m not angry with you ,,,,I. Any stay on facebook for long ,, send me your address ….I lost your address” and this “Write me and I’ll right back-and Tel you what’s been going on!send me some pics when you write” …he sent me these on April 8th and I didn’t come across them until just a few days ago I was very surprised/shocked and replied to them apologizing for not seeing them sooner and apologized once again for the news I had given him then because I knew it had to have been a lot for him to process..I sent him these just this last Saturday and haven’t received a response since even though he had asked me to write..it just makes this situation very stressful and somewhat disheartening I’d like to just have closure and move past this but it seems like the road is very long and weary at this point I don’t know what to think I feel guilty and confused..
Hi Katelyn, it sounds like you are going through a lot right now. It sounds like you are trying to put this behind you, but anything connected to the abortion is likely to bring up these feelings of sadness, anxiety, etc. that you are describing. As with grieving any loss, you will have times of feeling worse before you feel better (especially if you are trying to work through the pain and not just ignore it), but it doesn’t mean you aren’t moving forward.
I know this seems like a long road but I think you can make it, you just need some help to do it. I hope you saw my last post about contacting a group for post-abortion support, as this could really help. If you don’t have anyone to talk to about this situation then your emotions can just keep building up, with nowhere to go. So please consider contacting one of the groups listed on our healing page, or emailing Rachel’s Vineyard for support. I know this can seem like a big and even frightening step, but please know that many of these groups are made up of people who have been where you are and wanted to help other people find the healing that they themselves have experienced. They are there to support you and help you work through your emotions, not judge or criticize you.
My girlfriend of 4 months wants an abortion, I know it’s early on but I’m dead against it. I’ve got a 4 year old from a previous relationship and she has a 5 and 6 year old from a previous relationship, she told me she got pregnant after 6 months with her first child and getting rid of it wasn’t an option for them, so why is it different with me? Should I take it personally or am I reading into it too much? I just don’t think I’ll be able to speak to her again after it.
Please encourage her to read the risk factors that identify the women who will have the most problems after an abortion. The fact that she already has a child puts her at higher risk.
She should also read up on the psychological and physical risks . . . things they won’t tell her at the abortion clinic.
I don’t know if I would take it as a particular rejection of you. She just feels overwhelmed, especially since she already has two children. It’s tough taking care of a baby and older ones, and holding down a job, et cetera. But having an abortion just produces new stresses and problems that are hard to live with.
Try to help her realize that having an abortion won’t turn back the clock. It won’t let her go on with her life as if nothing had happened. She will still be a mother: of two living children and one dead child, whose loss will have to be mourned and for which she will struggle with self-blame for years, possibly forever.
Do the best you can to be encouraging. Promise, and follow through, on your responsibilities to be a good father to the child and good example to her other children. I don’t know of marriage is right for the two of you, but at the very least you need to commit to being a good co-parent. She needs to know that she is not alone in dealing with all of these new responsibilities.
You are all in my prayers.
Thank you for your help i will keep you updated
hey am Nicholas from Uganda, my girlfriend talked to me about about and didn’t support her at all on doing it but later told me that she had removed my baby. The situation worsened after the process but was by her side, paid hospital bills and others. she told me never wanted to loose her new and first job after university. Its four months now but feel like letting her go and move on because I suspect she never loved me. Want to go there today and be Open to end this relationship because am tired now even if we had been together for 4 years now. Please advice me but feel likely commiting suicide.
Hello Nicholas, I am so sorry for your loss. I am sure you must be in a lot of emotional pain right now. Please don’t give up but seek out help. Abortion does hurt men too — you can find more information on this at http://www.theunchoice.com/men.htm. Please especially visit the section with Post-Abortion Resources for Men: Help, Healing and Information, for links to sites that have a lot more information on this issue. I don’t know if there are healing organizations for men in Uganda, but you can contact Rachel’s Vineyard for help through email. They would be very glad to talk with you and provide help by email. Here is the information from their site:
Rachel’s Vineyard has numerous volunteers who can answer any questions you may have through confidential e-mail. You can simply write our e-mail buddies, who are listed below.
Most of us are persons who have walked down the same path as you and have experienced the healing power of Jesus Christ through a Rachel’s Vineyard retreat. Others are counselors trained in post-abortion healing or compassionate women who help run retreat teams. We are here to offer nonjudgmental, loving support and encouragement. To get support through email visit here: http://www.rachelsvineyard.org/men/email.aspx
hi.I’m 18 and I’m 3 months pregnant.I want to do abortion but my partner doesn’t want me to do it.he’s saying he’ll support me and the baby but I don’t want to keep the baby because if I do keep the baby I’ll be forced to drop out of school but I don’t want that because I’m doing my matric this year and my family will hate me if they found out I’m pregnant. and I have been talking to my partner about this whole thing how it’s gonna ruin my life but he doesn’t want to listen to me..please help I don’t know what to do.
I understand all the practical reasons to have an abortion. It looks like a way to keep your life from going “off track.” But abortion is not a time machine that takes everything back to the way it was before you became pregnant. Your boyfriend is now a father. You are now a mother. Abortion doesn’t change that. Even a miscarriage wouldn’t change that. Any form of losing this pregnancy only makes you the parents of a baby who died rather than one who lived.
Like I said, I understand how at first glance abortion looks like a good solution. But countless women have found that it plants the seeds for new problems that are far worse. Many women regret their abortions; very few ever regret giving birth to their children.
Please read about the risk factors that identify the women who are most likely to have the most severe psychological reactions to abortion. Then read about both the psychological and physical risks . . . including the increased risks faced in future pregnancies, such as increased risk of low birth weight babies.
Then read some of the testimonies of women who thought abortion would solve their problems but discovered it created more. Finally, you might read some of the stories about how abortion effects men so you can better appreciate how going through with this abortion may not only damage your relationship with your boyfriend but may also place a burden of guilt and shame on him for the rest of his life . . . leaving him feeling as a failure in providing and protecting for both you and his child.
In short, I agree that abortion is more likely to ruin than improve your life. I totally understand how it seems like the “only thing to do” because it prevents any disruption of your schooling plans and conflict with your parents. But many women have found that their schooling is disrupted anyway, because they have difficulty concentrating, depression, or other problems related to their abortions. And the secret of an abortion itself becomes toxic in families, and when it is eventually revealed can cause other disruptions.
Your parents will adjust. If it really is best for everyone that you and/or your boyfriend not raise the baby, adoption is a safer option.
I don’t know if you believe in God or not, but especially if you do . . . don’t give up HOPE! Life has thrown you a curve ball. Your life is already permanently changed. For believers, we believe that while unexpected and filled with challenges, this gift of new life to you and your boyfriend is a blessing. One you will always treasure. One which, someday in the future, you will be shocked to remember that you ever even thought about aborting him or her.
Things will work out. Don’t give up your faith and hope for a wonderful future. Instead, expand that vision to include your child.
You are in our prayers. Please write again if I can be of any more help.
Ive been engaged to my fiancé for 2 months now, in 5 months we set the date to get married. It has been stressful just because so much has happened to me and my family in the last 2 months. I lost my father a week after I moved out of his house. It has been really emotional for me because I didn’t leave on the best terms and I feel some regret and sorrow. I moved into my mom’s mobile home with my fiancé so that we could save up money for our wedding and new house. Along with my mom is her boyfriend and my younger brother. So there’s a lot of people in a tiny space and we all don’t get along most of the time because of other complicated reasons.
There’s also the fact that last month I almost lost my whole family… Someone who had it out for my mom showed up in our house with a gun ready to kill everyone in the house. I had escaped out of the house and called 911 and I had no idea if Id ever see them again and felt like I had left them to die. Fortunately, only the man with the gun lost his life.
Another layer to the story, I just turned 23 graduated college, I quit my 3 jobs to move in with my fiancé in a completely different state. It feels like a different world to me and its caused me to become depressed because I can not seem to find a job that I would be happy doing that I got my art degree for. I almost started working another job just to make some income for us but my fiancé convinced me that I would be unhappy and it wasn’t the right decision because he knows Id become depressed not doing my art. He knows it eats away at me because I feel if I got a job doing something non art.. in a way I would be letting my dad down who was so proud of me pursuing my art career before I had moved. Everyone has been understanding and patient with me about my career and I’m actually in the process of opening up my own studio.
My fiancé, has had such a hard life too bless his soul. He is 10 years older than I and I think it has been to my benefit because he is understanding and more mature about the poor life choices I had made in the past that other relationships weren’t understanding about. He is a victim of a brutal bus accident that happened to him years ago. He’s had to suffer with it everyday of his life, chronic pain, memory loss, and sometimes seizors. He tried to go back to work last month, the trouble is his leg would give out and he’d hit the floor and sometimes it would trigger a seizer. Ultimately he had to quit his job and rely on disability. So we live off of that check and its barely enough to get by. I know he feels less of a man because of it, which made the news of me being pregnant so much harder.
I just found out that I am pregnant, for a total of 3 days now. I was late 3 days, and at the time didn’t think much about it because I am irregular and I have horrible periods to where I have to stay in bed for a day or two because Im physically in so much pain and sick to my stomach. Well, this time things weren’t so normal… I got very bad hunger pains and dizzy/lightheaded and fall to the floor crying and crawl to my cell phone to call my fiancé into the house because something was wrong. He’d try to help feed me but I’d puke it up… the second time it happened my mom asked if I was pregnant. I thought that it was hardly likely that I was… just thought it was going to be a really bad period. But my fiancé went to the store to a test and it came back positive. When it came back positive there were a lot of emotions for me. I was angry at myself for letting this happen. The possibility of even letting a baby come into the world sickens me because I know that I am not ready to be a mother. But on the other hand, I was slightly pleased, because there’s apart of him growing inside of me. But I feel so much anguish because again, I let this happen and I know, that me personally, I am not ready to be a mother and I do not want to raise a child in this mobile home. My fiancé has suggested we move in with his parents instead, but that frightens me because I don’t want to be stuck depending on other people and having to raise a child. I want to be independent and on our own to then raise our children as we see fit. Not have a village raise a child.
Sadly, my fiancé doesn’t feel the same. He agrees with me that the timing isn’t the best. But that’s all he seems to agree on. He wants to get another job to support us and keep the baby. He says, “God let’s things happen for a reason” and “You want to get rid of it.” I forgot to mention, he has a 7 year old son from a previous relationship that went sour and he hasn’t seen his son in 4 years. (I know that not having his son in his life and having his son taken away from him by the mother mysteriously one day and never hearing from them again has paid a toll.) And telling him I don’t want this child crushed him. He said he felt insecure because I don’t want his baby. Which is not true, Im just not ready for this baby. I want to have children with him in the future. And I know we as a couple are not ready finically. When I tried to talk to him about it tonight he said he didn’t want to talk about it. That if I was going to do it, he wanted no part of it and never wanted me to speak of it again.
I feel trapped. I have already made up my mind, that it would be selfish to bring another life into the world that we couldn’t take care of, at the moment we can’t support ourselves very well either. I hate to take away his say so on the matter. And I know it’s going to change us. Even though he says that he won’t resent me, I already feel like he’s angry and resenting me. And for now, I feel perfectly fine with the idea of aborting, because I know its the right choice for me and the unborn. I want to be overjoyed bringing a new life into the world. It doesn’t have to be a planned pregnancy. But, again, I want to provide for my future child, not rely on family.
I’ve done some research about how women have felt after aborting. That they can feel its the best option for them, then feel grief after its over with and resent others or not be able to explain why they feel the way they do, and I just don’t want that to be me… I don’t want him to be unhappy with my decision either. And in a way, I feel selfish that I can’t make myself feel like I could be ready for a baby. I just ABSOLUTELY 100% don’t feel ready at this time for a baby. And I feel like, if i do decide to go through with it, it will end our relationship in the long run. And it’s very hard not to be able to talk to him about how I feel or discuss it or feel any sort of support or comfort. I guess ultimately, I wished I had controlled this better to where I wasn’t faced with this hard choice.
Hi LM,
Thank you for posting your story here. It sounds like you are in a hard situation and having an abortion might seem like the only way out.
But right now you are in crisis and that is always a bad time to make important decisions.
Even if your immediate reaction is that it is impossible for you to have a child right now, feelings and circumstances can change. You don’t want to make a spur of the moment decision that you may end up regretting down the road.
You are also right that having an abortion without your fiance’s support will probably hurt or destroy your relationship. If you make this decision without him it is likely to lead to resentment and anger between you and drive you apart.
If sounds like you are having mixed feelings about this situation as you say that you were slightly pleased at the thought of having a baby. Having mixed feelings about the abortion, not having support from the father, and feeling like you don’t have other options are all risk factors for having emotional problems after abortion.
Please take the time to think about this, talk with your fiance and others who can give you support, learn about all your options and resources that are available to support you. If your primary reason for the abortion is concern about your financial situation and being dependent on others, there are organizations out there that can help you find resources to address this. Please consider contacting one of the resources on this page for help: http://www.theunchoice.com/pregnancyhelp.htm They can walk with you through this difficult time in your life and help you make the best decision for yourself and your unborn child.
I also just saw an article from a group called CareNet relating how they helped a single mom who was pregnant with her sixth child. They were able to provide her with the help she needed and they can help you too. Please consider contacting them (http://www.care-net.org/find-a-pregnancy-center) or one of the groups at the link above.
Finally, here is a site about raising children on a budget that may offer some inspiration and help. That’s not to say it will be easy, but to show that it is indeed possible. http://kidsonashoestring.com/
Also, feel free to send us an email if you need more information or to be put in touch with a group that can help you: elliotinstitute@gmail.com
Before you act, I you to read about the risk factors which predict which women will have the most post-abortion problems. It’s a mistake to think that an abortion will simply “turn back the clock” to before you became pregnant. It will bring it’s own additional issues into your life and possibly even greater distress.
It is very insightful of you that you started out your post describing all the recent losses and stress that you are facing. The stress of living in a crowded space, on top of the loss of your father–which probably still includes ongoing grief and healing–contribute to how overwhelmed you likely feel. In the face of these current feelings and pressures, it is hard to imagine and fully appreciate the joys and intimacy and healing that the birth of a child will bring into your life.
The big danger is that abortion is both a stress reliever and stress creator. It eliminates immediate, short term stresses and will give you a feeling that you have control over your life and that you have avoided “obvious” long term disadvantages of an untimely birth, but it also creates tremendous stresses in regard to new feelings of loss, the death of a child you never got to know, and maternal and moral conflicts . . . which often don’t fully rear their heads until the birth of a later child, or the death of a loved one.
In short, an abortion trades near term problem for long term problems. While many women will come to regret their abortions, very, very few ever regret giving birth to an unplanned child. In fact, in your case, it is clear that giving birth to your child will help you and your fiance grow closer together, whereas having an abortion will plant a stress point between you in which someday one or the other of you will be accusing the other of this or that.
You are in my prayers. While I don’t know with certainty will regret an abortion or suffer from any of the major physical or psychological complications associated with abortion, I can promise you that if you give birth to your child you will look back with great happiness on the fact that you didn’t have an abortion. Your child is a blessing on you, your fiance, and your future marriage. Don’t reject that blessing. Embrace it!
I have a daughter 7 months and now I’m pregnant again getting close to 2. I am not married to my children’s dad and to me everyday shit just keep getting worse. At 1st he wanted an abortion but then when I expressed I did not want that he decided for us to go through with the pregnancy. However I don’t think that I can be with him anymore. He is not ready for anything real with me. About 2 months ago he bought our rings but never did the paper work to make it legal. He never spoke to my dad nothing.Now he has started talking to all different females and I just cant do it. I feel like I just want to die. 2 children is not that easy to start again. I don’t even want my first child anymore. All I keep wishing is that God take them or he take me. I really trying hard to keep positive but is like I have no 1 to confide in. I just really hate myself for getting pregnant again and I really hate my children’s father. I want to abort this child and give up my rights with my next baby. I just cant deal with this and the stigma and pieces that is left behind. I really hate my life and I just don’t want to be a mom anymore.
Hello DC,
I know you are in a hard situation right now. But abortion will not fix your problems. It won’t change the relationship with the baby’s father or the child you already have. But it is likely to create worse problems down the road.
Right now you are in crisis and this is not a good time to make a decision like this. You need help and support from people who can help. Please consider contacting one of the resources on this page for help: http://www.theunchoice.com/pregnancyhelp.htm They can walk with you through this difficult time in your life and help you make the best decision for yourself and your unborn child. They also offer lots of support and resources.
If you are really thinking about harming yourself or your children you need to get help as soon as possible through a crisis hotline: 1 (800) 273-8255.
Having a baby under difficult circumstances and feeling abandoned and alone is never easy. But you can do it and you will hopefully find that this baby is a blessing to you! I also just saw an article from a group called CareNet relating how they helped a single mom who was pregnant with her sixth child. They were able to provide her with the help she needed and they can help you too. Please consider contacting them (http://www.care-net.org/find-a-pregnancy-center) or one of the groups at the link above.
Feel free to send us an email if you need more information or to be put in touch with a group that can help you: elliotinstitute@gmail.com
Hi DC,
My prayers go out to you in this time of such distress. It sounds like you may be struggling with a lot of depression and anxiety. Is there any way you can see a counselor precisely so you will have someone to confide in? Most pregnancy help centers will be able to make a referral to a therapist, and many will be able to help pay for a therapist if you don’t have the money. I think it is very important for you to find someone you can talk to, face-to-face, who can help support you through all these feelings of despair that are dragging you down. Once you find a counselor, you should also see if your partner will attend some couples counseling with you. It may be very helpful to have a counselor help you both to communicate better.
I also encourage you to read about the risk factors which predict which women will have the most post-abortion problems. It’s a mistake to think that an abortion will simply “turn back the clock” to before you became pregnant. It will bring it’s own additional issues into your life and possibly even greater distress.
You are not in a stable place in your life. Keep reaching out for help. There are lots of resources out there to help you if you will let them help you. Don’t rush into abortion with false hopes that it will solve the real and ongoing problems with your children’s father and your baby daughter.
I can empathize with the helplessness you feel, and this wish that God will “take them or take me.” You are drained and exhausted. That’s why you need to get help. The temptation to have a quick abortion to relieve your distress is a false promise. Don’t give into despair and do desperate things. Reach out for help and the people who can give you an injection of hope into your life, support in dealing with your children’s father, and even help with your children.
If you really believe in God, know that He wants you to find and hold onto hope. There is help out there in the people we are referring you to. Many of them have been in very similar desperate circumstances. When you meet them and see how they worked through their problems, that will help build hope that you can too.
You are in our prayers. Hang onto hope. Learn more about the risk factors and the risks of abortion. That may help you to recognize the need to pursue healthier options.
My partner really wanted to have a child with me when we first met, which was on holiday. He hoped I would have a “love child.” However I did not fall pregnant. We got in touch and decided to continue out LDR, seeing each other once every 6 weeks or so. Then 15 months in I fell pregnant. He had changed his mind and didn’t want it as he thought I was mentally unstable. I’d been diagnosed with PMDD. I’d also had a drink over Christmas (before I knew) and he said it would probably harm the baby. He also said things like he didn’t trust he would see the child and didn’t want to be a long distance father, no discussion on whether I should move over or not. He didn’t want to be retired and still have an 18 year old at home. He said he would support me if I wanted to have it but he didn’t want to have another child.
I felt like I was going crazy, what with pmdd and baby brain, I was all over the place. I so wanted him to tell me that he wanted the child, I would have loved it to have been a 50/50 decision but I was in turmoil, I didn’t want to be a single mum and I didn’t want him to resent me for keeping it. Termination seemed to be the only way to keep it all together. I told him when I had my first appointment and when it might take place, then the excuses about it being too short notice (we live in diff countries, both in Europe) to sort things for his kids. I couldnt believe it, he even arranged to go to a night out with his daughter (who gets everything she wants) without a second thought. He apologized for that and said he had forgotten, then lied to his daughter about me, saying I was p’d off at him for going so not to mention it to me! I couldn’t bear any excuses or to be let down so I told him not to worry I would go through it myself and he didn’t try and change my mind. He went on a skiing holiday with his children and gave me money for the taxi.
Well one year on and I still can’t stop thinking about it. His step-daughter had a baby the same time mine was due so it’s going to be a constant reminder for me. Every year he goes skiing at the same time, another constant reminder of such a black time. He blames it on me that he wasn’t there for me, said I insisted…seriously, what a load of rubbish.
As usual I feel at the bottom of the pile and now I question our relationship entirely. I actually hate him if I think about it. He has just booked the ski trip again for feb and already I feel the black knot inside. I don’t know what to do. How do I get over this?
I’ve only mentioned the bad bits as this is what the forum is about. He is fundamentally a good man. He just sucks at emotion. He too is going through a hard time just now and he expects me to be the understanding other half. Tells me what a great support I am but this is just fuelling my resentment. We are in love but I feel everything so deeply and I don’t know how to get out of this downward spiral. Oh and, he had a vasectomy about two weeks after I had the abortion and went on and on about how awful it was. He refuses to discuss the abortion with me. I told him it wont just go away because he ignores it, but it’s never talked about. I can’t even begin to describe how angry that makes me feel. Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.
Dear Georgina,
What you are experiencing is common. And the resentments it has created in your relationship are also common.
You are totally correct in your believe that his refusal to talk about your feelings won’t help. But neither should you wait on him to be willing to listen to youi. I strongly encourage you to read our page on resources for post-abortion healing. It would be best to find a trained post-abortion counselor to work with. But even if you can only get help through one of the online resources, you need to have someone who is prepared to listen to you, empathize with you, and give you good advice based on their own experience with healing from a past abortion.
As you find healing, it may be easier for him to finally listen to you and to share his own feelings. Men can also have significant negative reactions to an abortion. Given the fact that he once thought with pleasure about the idea of having a child with you, he probably has at least some conflicting feelings and grief himself. That can also explain why he doesn’t want to talk with you about it, if he fears that talking about it will make him more vulnerable to feeling his own feelings of loss and regret. The “let’s not talk about it” attitude may not be “cold” so much as “self protective” — even though it is at your expense. In any event, it’s not healthy. But you shouldn’t wait for him to be understanding. You need to move forward and get help for yourself . . . and maybe, someday, he will get similar help himself.
You are in my prayers.
my gf jst had an abortion last month.Though i av never been so close to a pregnant lady bfore bt during the period before the abortion,she started acting all angry.i just graduated in search of a job nd she is just in her second year in the university.Before the abortion i asked if we should keep the baby cos i wanted her opinion nd to know if she wanted an abortion.She wanted to keep it but said she was not bcos of her education and our financial status.I was with her through the period and during that time,i felt she was too moody tho maybe cos of the pains.I always felt her pain as she could not eat nd was always vomiting(the pregnancy was 8weeks old)
After the abortion,it felt like everything i did got her angry and i didnt understand.Sometimes i even got angry but then i apologised cos i wanted peace and wanted her happiness.Sometimes,she ll cry in d mornin,ill comfort her but then it was as if i wasnt tryin enough.Then one day she said she needed some space nd she wanted to be away from sex for atleast a year and i readily agreed bcos this is her second abortion(the first went by without even a quarell or moods).But she has been away to her aunt’s for about a month now but when we talk on phone,i still have a feeling its not my girlfriend i am talking to.Sometimes,she sounds cold,sometimes she sounds indifferently.
I dont feel like leaving her,rather i want to hang on to her more because i know she took a very big risk which could have taken her life for me but the problem is i do not know if her attitude will come back to normal soon?
if it is normal for her to be the way she is now?,if she is no longer interested in the relationship,?how much space to give her,?if it is normal for her to act the way she is acting ?because unlike the previous abortion, this was more painful and she saw the Fetus out in full. I am really confused and i really do not want to make a mistake.I love her always bt i do not want an abortion to come between us.Thank you
Hi, thank you so much for posting. I’m sorry for what you and your girlfriend are going through. You ask if her reaction to the abortion is normal and yes, it is very common for there to be grief, trauma, anger, resentment, relationship problems and other issues after abortion. It sounds like you might both benefit from seeking the help of a group that can provide support after abortion. I would suggest talking with her about this and seeing if she would be willing to seek this out with you. Even if she is not ready for this yet, perhaps you could do this on your own to help you work though your own feelings and get a better understanding of where she might be coming from. Our post-abortion healing page has a lot of information on this as well as a list of national organizations that offer free and confidential support for both women and men after abortion (you can also visit this page for a list of resources for men). If you are outside the U.S. you can email me at elliotinstitue@gmail.com and I’ll try to track down a group for you.
Well, i just recently had an abortion..my boyfriend was happy when i told him i am pregnant but later on he started to say everything should be planned i now you don’t plan it right now in this point in your life ..but he also said it’s your decision to make and i will support you anyway. A few weeks pass by we didn’t really talk about it much.. but i had a feeling it’s just not a right time to have a baby for both of us we ha’ve been dating for 1 year and we had a great relationships but we never leave together never even talked about it. suddenly something changed i didn’t feel like he wants this baby.I made a decision to have a an abortion i was 8,5 weeks pregnant. It was my first pregnancy and first abortion i didn’t know how hard for me it would be , my emotions my grief and thoughts if i did a right thing all of those feeling i had. now i am going through a tough times i know i need to respect myself my confidence and my worth so i could feel happy again. I asked my boyfriend to give me sometime alone because i didn’t feel enough support from him and i didn’t want to became one this anger women and blaming everything on him, even thou part of me thinks is his fault too. All i hope is in one day to find relive and forgiveness
Please read our page on post-abortion healing resources. I’d also encourage you to share it with your boyfriend. It is not uncommon for men to go through a lot of doubts and grief, as well.
I don’t considered myself a spiritual person. I use to talk to God all the time when I was in high school, mostly praying for him to look after my boyfriend. He had a habit of getting into trouble and always came to me when things got low. He was my first love. My only love. We discovered I was pregnant last October and for a day he had this unforgettable goofy smile across his face. We were scared, but happy. Because of our age and finances, we debated having an abortion. We had no support form either of our families and everything seemed so hopeless. He became distant from me, going out late with his friends and turning to weed to escape. I guess he was scared of being a father, the money, feeling trapped, etc. He told me I was mean when I was pregnant, and I guess I was. I remember feeling so scared all the time, like I was losing my mind, sad one minute, sick another. The emotions were overwhelming. I kept thinking how unfair I was being to my baby, knowing it felt the pain I was going through. My boyfriend pulled further away, telling me I had changed and begged me to get an abortion. I was reluctant at first, but when I started adding up the costs in my head for being a single mother in college, I began to panic. Then my boyfriend revealed he felt he would be replaced by the baby and how he feared I would leave him for it. I broke. I made the appointment the next day. I did it for him. I opted to go to sleep so I wouldn’t remember the procedure and he drive me the following weekend. I cried uncontrollable in the lobby once I took the first pills. He held me and rocked me while we waited. The doctors told me I would feel upset for a few weeks until the hormones fully left my body. Once I physically healed, I was fine.. for a while. I took a semester off in college and focused on work.
The baby’s due date was around my birthday in May. I spent my birthday alone by choice and silently mourned my baby’s loss. I started to feel guilty and cried at the littlest things.. Mostly pictures of baby clothes and anything emotional in any movie (happy or sad). I began to pull away from my boyfriend. It’s October now, the anniversary of my pregnancy discovery and I am a complete mess. I am doing horrible in all my classes. I feel like I can’t focus and I prefer to be alone all the time now. My boyfriend seems to be doing fine, excelling at work and shows no emotion when it comes to acknowleding the abortion, unless he is having to deal with me being upset over it. I shut down and try to avoid him. I enjoy spending time with him and I’m not angry or jealous with his emotional coping (I wouldn’t want him to feel this pain) but when it comes to sex or even normal gestures like cuddling or kissing, I pull away. I know we are falling apart and I feel helpless. He tells me he loves me all the time, and it kills me that I cannot say the words back. I just feel so numb.
My mother is pressuring me to date someone new and give her grand babies (an already sore subject) and my boyfriend is pressuring me for answers. Why don’t I like sex anymore? WHEN am I going to be okay? Why do I run? I am hurt my mother is acting this way and feel insulted that she is playing matchmaker when she showed little to no support when I was pregnant. I desperately want to answer my boyfriend’s questions, but I draw a blank at what to say that will ease his mind. I just feel like I am going through the motions and a part of me might always be this paralyzed.
Hi Kristen, I’m so sorry that you are going through this. Please know that you don’t have to feel paralyzed forever. Visit our healing page for a list of organizations that offer support after abortion. They are there to help — many are run by women who have been through an abortion — and help you work through the questions you are asking here.
I had an abortion almost two years ago. I still don’t feel right about that or life in general.
I found out I was pregnant, and my first thought is “He’s gonna make me have an abortion.” When I told him about the baby, he looked MORTIFIED. Not mad. Not sad. Not happy. It was a look of pure disgust and shock. I mistakenly told him about my initial thought later on, and he was like “oh I didn’t realize that was an option.” We didn’t even speak of the pregnancy for three days, until that Friday night when our daughter was at the in-laws’ house. His mind had not changed. In fact, he said “this is the only way”. We both have health issues (though his is almost entirely due to lifestyle choices). He wouldn’t even listen to me when I said I wanted to keep the baby. Not even for a second. He said “I’ll support you no matter what you choose…” but I knew in my heart that was not true (and he confirmed it afterward, in words and actions). He would only support the termination. If I had kept it, all hell would have broken loose, far worse than what it did following the abortion.
I hedged on making the appointment. I did not want to go through with it. Two weeks later, he asks me if I had made the appointment. I told him no and why I hadn’t. He didn’t care. He just wanted the baby gone. I called and made the appointment while on my knees and bawling.
Now, ten days shy of two years later, here I am, writing this. I love him. I do. We’ve been together off and on for 20 years. And, yet, I hate him. I despise him. The thought of sex, which used to be a joy for me, just disgusts me. I’m terrified of getting pregnant again. I don’t think I have it in me to go through ANY of it again (pregnancy, birth, abortion..). There are days I just want to grab him by the shirt and SCREAM at him. I want him to know the grief, the absolute anguish, the self-hatred at having done something so wrong.
There are days that I hate myself less, I’m calmer about it, it doesn’t eat at me quite so bad. There are other days that I hate myself more, what kind of a mom kills one of her babies, I’m a monster, etc etc.
Two years later, I’m still alive. So is he. Two years later, I still hate the choice that was made. Two years later, I’m still grieving the loss of my child, what I feel was honestly my last chance to have a child. And it’s gone. I can’t take it back. I can’t change it. Two years later, and it sometimes makes me cringe when people hug me. The only hugs I want are from my children, and I can never get a hug from one of my babies. Not ever.
I don’t leave the house much. I don’t work much. I’m honestly afraid to live at all sometimes. When I work, it’s not enough for him. What I bring home doesn’t satisfy him. Also, when I work, I’m in damn near excruciating pain all the time.
I just don’t know how to process and deal with it all. I’m dealing in my own way, but, honestly, it’s not really dealing. Most days, what I feel I really want to do is get my daughter, pack our stuff, and run far far away. I know that if I do that, a sh**storm will follow me, and I’d hurt her by taking her away from her dad. So I stay and sit, away from the world. I stay away from most people. I get afraid of starting any conversations with anyone, b/c there’s just so much judgement about abortion, and should it ever come up in conversation with anyone, I fear the shame and judgement that will most likely follow.
I just don’t know anymore. I’m not gonna commit suicide or start cutting or anything. I have no intention of dying, though I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought of doing it. I just want peace, and I want the impossible; I want my baby back.
Dear Chelle, I am so sorry for your experience. Please know that there are safe places where you can talk to someone — where you will not be judged because they have been through abortion as well. If you haven’t already done so, please visit our healing page and consider contacting one of the groups listed there. You don’t have to stay trapped in this pain forever.
Well my girlfriend and I went through something similar in September 2013 my girlfriend got pregnant unexpectedly and it was her 1st time ever and @ that time I was going through a tough situation in my life and wasn’t even working @ the time. When she first told me she was pregnant I was estatic but I hid that from her bcuz I knew her fear of gettin pregnant especially when she’s going to nursing school and it was tough on her..but we kind of talk about it and decided to get rid the pregnancy which is one of the biggest mistake ever made in my life…but long story short she gets rid of the baby and since then out relationship has not been the same..I love this girl with all my heart and wanted to marry her and have a family with her. We try to make the relationship work since we went through the situation but it’s as if she never did look @ me the same again. I have even done everything possible to let her know I will never put her through such a painful experience again and how I want us to be a happy family and she goes I can’t see myself getting pregnant for you again you had your chance and you blew it and I go I’m hurt from that experience too and wish I could take it all back and do it differently but no matter what I did or said would not get to her..I never intended to lose her but it seems as now I did…she finally tells me two days ago I think it’s time I end this all and move on with my life, I can’t look @ you the same I don’t see the same guy I fell in love with since we went through the abortion and I can’t see us together because It pains me…and I’m just like what? We had some of the best years of our relationship post abortion since the summer of 2013 now it’s as if I lost her I can’t even talk to her now without her gettin angry and saying I need my space and time to myself..we dated for 5 years..it’s hurt like crazy because the girl of my dream had just slipped through my fingers. I have prayed about this numerous times and it hurts really bad.
I am 22 and recently had an abortion three weeks ago. It was with my boyfriend at the time who I had been with seven months. He was intense and in a very light sense borderline verbally abusive during arguements. To be honest, it was more of an attraction we had (we were both very sexually active, hee always wanted sex but it didnt really bother me) and enjoyed the company and the comfort of having someone. I dont really believe I truly loved him, but we said it to eachother quite a bit. we were long distance when I found out I was pregnant and I had never felt so supported by him just over the phone and on texts, everything. It was then that I think I truly fell in love with him and felt so comforted. A few days later we reunited at college and suddenly in the four days leading up to the abortion we fought non-stop. he would insult me and call me names, accuse me of cheating, an very unsympathetic when I suffered terrible morning sickness and saddness. He did not attend the abortion and would not see me that day either becasue he was at a bar and kept saying its over with. I did not feel any regret from the abortion. I have always believed in it and am not religious but I still felt almost bi-polar and having panic attacks when my boyfriend would leave me and fight me. why was he so nice during it, then a total jerk after? of course this lead to numerous fights where I said he didnt even suffer he wasnt even there he didnt have to feel it physically.recently, we broke up because there had been too much. I feel heartbroken, lonely and abandoned. He has not even said a word to me since although he said I;ll always love you as the closing line of our break up. I have very unsympathetic , party girl promiscuous friends so the support group there is awful. It has been hard living four states away at college when my family is all that makes me feel better besides alcohol and sleeping pills. How do I recover from this? How to I detach myself from my ex boyfriend who I resent but still believe he had to stay and help me heal?> I also still feel sick sometimes like nausea , no motivation, body and mind fatigue and numbness. I have almost fainted under stress and constantly shaking.
Hi Claire, what a painful experience for you. I’m so sorry for your loss and for how your boyfriend treated you. It sounds like you are going through a lot right now … now wonder you are feeling so stressed. Is there anyone you can talk with to find some support? Please know that there are groups out there of other women who have been through similar experiences and who want to help. You don’t have to be religious or even feel like you regret the abortion to seek help. I would suggest visiting our healing page for a list of organizations you can call just to find a listening ear: http://afterabortion.org/?page_id=3718 I’m sure they will be glad to listen, talk with you and help provide the support you need.
hi…i had an abortion like a month ago.its been tough because my boyfreind doesnt seem to be as close as he was before.he says its okay because he still cares n loves me its just our communication.i feel so bad because i wish he were closer and moore caring.i love him and am scared that if i loose him then i will loose myself.i think i should commit suicide and just end it all
Hi Tima,
I’m so glad you came to this site — and so sorry about your painful experience. It sounds like both you and your boyfriend are struggling — which as you can see from this page, often happens. Please don’t give in to despair or thoughts of suicide. If you are thinking about suicide, you need to reach out for help right away! There are lots of groups listed on this page that can help with healing after abortion. If you need immediate help, please call a group called Option Line at 1-800-712-4357, or even the National Suicide Prevention hotline (1-800-273-8255).
I hope that you and your boyfriend will be able to work things out together. Maybe he would be willing to reach out together to one of the organizations offering post-abortion support that are listed on the healing page. But even if he is not ready or willing to do this, please contact them for yourself. You don’t need to go through this pain alone, and you deserve the chance to find healing and hope for your own sake.
I have yet to see a relationship that will survive a women who will kill the man’s child. Eventually it will break the relationship up and the man will hate the woman. Don’t elect him to change his mind you killed his child for your own selfish reasons that is not something one just gets over.
I had an abortion a week ago and my bf did not support the idea of it .he begged me to keep the pregnancy and even cried for it but I didn’t have choice .i didn’t listen to him.i m just not ready to be a mother and I feel it will be so embarrassed for me to get pregnant while I still live withy mother . After I told him that I had an abortion
He started calling me an evil ,sinner n murder
I know he loves me but at the same time he doesn’t want be with me anymore .everytime I try to talk to him ,he will start telling hurtful words n being rude to me .keeps saying that he will never forget what I did”killing his child”
I know I did somthing wrong but I just can’t handle how he is treating me now .i dont like how he is treating me now 🙂
I want break up with him but at the same time it’s getting hard for me cuz I feel like I have wronged him.but seem like our relationship ain’t going to survive based on what he keeps saying to me .
What should I do?should keep being patient with his rudeness n wait for him until he recover the hurts ?
Or should I break up with him
Help I need help
He never be there for since I had the abortion 🙂 n it’s hurting me too n pushing me away
Dear Fifi,
Thank you for your post. It sounds like the two of you need time and support to work through this experience. An abortion can bring up a lot of pain in a relationship, and if your boyfriend didn’t want the abortion he is probably feeling very hurt and betrayed. I would strongly suggest searching out a counselor, pastor or someone else who can help the two of your work through this. Here is a list of organizations that offer free and confidential help and support: http://afterabortion.org/help-healing/#Organizations.
I had an abortion on May, 31 2014. It was one of the toughest decisions I have ever made. I was always so against abortion because of my beliefs. When I found out I was pregnant, I was so scared I cried I didn’t know who to turn to. My then boyfriend of 2 years thought having an abortion was the best decision to make. I was 20 and he was 24 when I went through with the procedure. He blamed me becoming pregnant. I was on the pill and he thought I was consist with it. Unfortunately I wasn’t. There was times I would forget or take it on the wrong day. He told me if he knew that he would have used protection. My baby would have been born this month of January. No one but him and I know about this. I’ve kept this secret from everyone. I truly believed it was my fault I ended pregnant. I should have just told him about me forgetting to take the pill.
I am so sorry for your pain. Please know that you are not alone. Have you visited our healing page? There are many links there to support groups and other ministries with people you can talk to about this. They want to help! Please know that you don’t have to go through this alone and that there are other women out there who want to support you. Here is a link to the page for more information: http://afterabortion.org/?page_id=3718
Dear El,
last year I broke up with my boyfriend (of 1 year at the time) for 2 months because he was cheating on me (we had a ldr for around 6 months because I needed to go to New York to study-we live in Europe- and he met someone else).I returned and he has since stopped meeting her,we are now together (for 2 years in total).Last year,during a visit before we broke up,we had intercourse and I got pregnant.I had an abortion without telling him anything since we were not together.He has now asked me to live with him and get married. Should I talk to him about what happened?
Women are made feel that they have to experience PASS and tremendous personal hardships (such as the dissolution of their relationship, as this particular article is pointing out) as the result of having an abortion, or else they are cold and abnormal. Some women have abortions and are absolutely okay afterwards. As long as the procedure is safe and expertly carried out in a professional clinic by highly trained staff, abortions provide women the choice to fulfill their goals.
Not every woman experiences emotional disturbances following abortion. But while numerous studies have found an increase in the risk of mental and physical problems after abortion (including higher suicide rates, maternal morality rates, mental health disorders, etc.), the research has not found any mental health benefits arising from abortion.) Women and their loved ones have a right to know the risks, and especially if they have any pre-existing factors that have been shown to increase the risk of emotional problems following abortion. Further, the abortion industry and their allies have repeatedly fought any efforts hold clinics to even the most basic professional standards for patient safety and well-being. Women shouldn’t have to submit to a risky, unnecessary and usually unwanted procedure that can damage their emotional and physical well-being (or even kill them) in order to fulfill their goals.
My girlfriend had an abortion late last March. We’ve only been dating a few months at that point. It was an unplanned pregnancy. She wanted to break up with me the day she found out she was pregnant. When we met that day I told her I’m not ready to have a baby yet but if she wants to keep it we’are going to have a family. Truth is she wanted to have a family and kids with me, she would talk about it often. And I wanted the same. But she is still in school and decided having a baby would jeopardise her future. A week after the abortion she broke up with me. She said she felt we are not going to be happy together because we decided to have an abortion. She was extremely broken up about having to do it as she is catholic and she really wanted to be a mother. Looking back at the weeks between when she found out she was pregnant and abortion (medical) I think all she wanted from me was to intervene and stop her from going through with it. Instead I chose to avoid discussing it any further for the fear of upsetting her.
I tried to get her back. After no contact for about 2 months I sent her flowers for her birthday. She responded and I tried to do my best to win her back. We were just meeting up and spending time together as friends. Although at times I could tell she still has feeling for me she was not the same person any longer, the pain she endured scarred her. I could see it in her eyes. After about a month of this she ended it saying she wasn’t ready to be with anyone yet. It’s been three months since I last heard form her and last month would’ve been the due date for the baby. I still love her more than anything and not a day goes by that I don’t think about her and our baby.
From personal experience I can tell you if a woman has one to save a relationship even if she wants to get married, it will always be there and have a bad effect. I had two with the same man, and with the second PG he first proposed and then fell apart as he didn’t want to be a “screwup” to his mother. She was a bitter woman who criticized her kids but he always hid any foibles so she would consider him the “good son”. And he always felt in his own mind he was not good enough even though he graduated college and law school. But because he was in law school at the time he could not stand the idea of telling her. Even though we were in our 20s. This is almost 40 years ago so times have changed. I ended up going back to him (I was terrified of telling my family as they were not supportive and I was on my own financially and barely making it). He asked me to marry him only after I jokingly gave him a deadline and he asked on the last possible day because he says he wanted to be sure.
I was a scared young woman with low self esteem at the time. After we were married I kept working even though we had 3 kids and I wanted to stay home as he could not find a job that made much money even though he went to law school. And I wish I had. I ended up doing well in my career where he ended up staying home with our kids as I needed to travel for work. All for me was ok with my last job that paid well until I lost it. Then things unraveled. I found a job that paid half of what I was making and I have been stuck there for 10 years despite looking for something better. No raises and now I am well over 50 and women are considered invisible even though I was well respected in my career. He had to find work and again has looked for something he could do that he wanted to do and has never been able to do it. He is a hard worker but not a natural networker and has only been able to make half of what I am now. So I still carry the load.i have never had an extended period of time off that I so desperately need. I wanted to really cook and sew and decorate. All those things I haven’t been able to do as I have been working and tending to kids. I finally am pursuing some things I wanted to do in fine arts but we are almost broke and may have to sell the house I wanted to decorate. Adult kids are working but not making enough to pay back student loans and rent so they live with us. We have little privacy.
But three years ago while he was going through a few months of unemployment )he can find only temp work) he became part of a committee at our church and began to be friends with a young bright woman on the committee who was headed to college and actually we knew from church. Unbeknownst to me instead of looking for work at night on the computer he was busy emailing her and even went so far as to enclose a letter secretly with a graduation gift we gave her. She had been impressed by his vocabulary and he felt flattered and important as she asked him advice about careers etc. Well he became very interested and began this correspondence that I stumbled upon accidentally (I had also been doing all the bill paying and household chores as he was “busy” with the committee meetings and job hunting. He also went on a diet and exercised At 5am and whitened his teeth and bought new clothes. You know, for job hunting. We were on a strict budget but of course he needed those things.
When I discovered these daily lengthy emails….cleverly written with great panache and peppered with questions about her interests, great books they had both read, sprinkled with little witticisms and mild flirts and flattery, I was floored. She was going to be at an event that weekend so I waited and watched as he wrote her again to confirm the time she would be there and did not leave her side. I sat across from them. Could have been invisible. I confronted him in the car and he became cold and said he could have any ‘friends’ if he chose. It has been s long struggle. He cried one night and said I didn’t know what it was like to “love someone when they didn’t love you back”. It was a total infatuation. She was being slowly worked on like a student -professor thing, liking that an older man she respected told her she was so emotionally mature and so much ahesd of others her age etc. Made him write her to break it off and he told her he had derived too much emotional satisfaction from their “relafionship” better focused on his marriage to me. I think it scared her as she would not talk to him at church. He could not stand it so I watched on horror as I saw him watching her across the room from church like a forlorn puppy and then trying to sit or stand near her to overhear her. I had asked him to take her off his Facebook friends but he lied and kept up following her(for a year…lying to me about it) on social media through my daughter’s account but he did not contact her. On Christmas Eve he could not stand being ignored and walked past me at church and deliberately made her talk with him. Just niceties but he was defensive about it. Because he saw no reason why I should deprive him of a friendship.
We went through two years of marriage therapy and have stopped for awhile. He is trying to build up his self esteem. I wanted him to g through therapy with me about the abortions because I had the same feelings of abandonment. Nobody in his family or mine knows about them and only two trusted old friends of mine. One of whom wss with me there (he did not accompany me to either one). I have loved this man for a long time and though we had troubles financially and a bumpy road at times because I wanted to stay at home and I could not afford to (and he did stay home bit did not want to nor have the career he wanted), I had never had reason to doubt his faithfulness since we were married nor his support emotionally for the last thirty years. This thing rocked me to my core.
The counselor suggested he work with me and help mourn or grieve the abortions. He says he doesn’t need to feel all that shame as he is trying to move forward and I need counseling so I don’t play the “blame game” as I need to accept my responsibility too and he isn’t responsible for all my pain.
He is stil not working as much, still has been applying for jobs without success (as have I) is seeing a counselor on his own who has never met me but has told him he is not responsible for my feelings and I need to get help on my own. He has not been proactive in trying to heal the rift he caused with his ” foolish infatuation” as he calls it (he refuses to call it an emotional affair and gets angry). He wrote her daily lengthy letters for three months. He writes beautifully. I have no such correspondence from him as we have not been apart but I still wish he would write to me as beautifully just so I would feel as flattered. He says it would not be the same as the reasons for him writing her was to keep her writing and getting flattery and admiration and he had mo assursnces of that from me because he largely gets resentment from me. I try to go back to “normal” life with him hoping for a little empathy and that he would try to earn back my trust and admiration to some degree. I had never questioned his faithfulness. With all that had happened that was the one thing I felt we had. And he says his feelings for this young woman are changed to just regular interest in someone in the same field. Yet he was upset just a couple of months ago because he thought I had gone into his FB account and blocked access to a mutual friend’sFB pictures. I had not. But she was in them and he knew that. Yet he said it was just the principle of it.
Sigh. So now he is saying I am the one dragging this out as I won’t forgive him as he has “moved on” from this infatuation but I need to move forward and forgive him and stop making him feel badly. As for the abortions he says they are history and he feels badly but there is nothing either one of us can do about it and he sees no reason to drag them into any kind of a ritual grief issue as he doesn’t feel like that because he says he is a different person now. Yet all of these things that he did that caused me great pain are deep secrets. He says if I share any of them I am being punitive and that is vengeful and not in the spirit of forgiveness. He says he feels sorry but he can’t undo any of them (although the girl has been the person he has written the lengthiest and most letters since we have been married and he flat out refuses to write to me more than a note every couple of months because he says those notes are more meaningful even if they are shorter and infrequent. And he says he is tired of “tests”. And he will not ask me how I am feeling because he knows I am still hurt and doesn’t need to hear that I am having s bad day here and there and doesn’t want to take the responsibility for my pain .
I don’t know what to do. I want to feel like he pursued me like I saw him pursue this young woman. But he says we have been married a long yoke and that should count for something. Then he gets angry if I ever mention his infatuation. I don’t want to. I just wish he were emphathetic not sympathetic. He feels more sorry for himself than anything (I think he is very angry at himself but to me he is more secretive about his feelings and only talks to his shrink every week. ). We don’t have any conversations about feelings or anything deep unless I bring it up as he avoids it.
Don’t know how this will turn out yet. Just football what I did. Don’t give in to something you don’t want to do because you are scared of being alone.
So all I can
Dear Janell,
I totally understand how hurt you feel about both your abortion history with him and he emotional affair.
Regarding the latter, pray for the grace to forgive him then do it. Forgive him. Then continue to pray that your forgiveness will deepen into your emotional life as well. Like love, forgiveness is a decision. Feelings, with God’s grace and perhaps a bit of cooperation from the loved/forgiven person will follow. Decide. Act. Persist.
Also, while I think you already have a grasp on it, his foolish infatuation is something he should have avoided and recognized as bad for both him and your relationship . . . but for a man struggling with career and esteem issues, the sheer idea of being admired a young attractive woman can be very intoxicating. Perhaps you can find ways to refurbish and redisplay your admiration of him. That’s something that often disappears over many years of marriage. We get so used to each other we don’t feel admired. Indeed, that’s in many ways the same thing you yearn for . . . his admiration. You want him to pursue your admiration like he pursued hers. Perhaps you can both contribute to that mutual admiration cycle by making a list of things you admire about each other and sharing it with each other, and trying to focus on the things you admire and comment on them more frequently, and otherwise trying to build on new habits of showing how you appreciate each other . . . because frankly, you are both admitting that you each feel a bit unappreciated by each other.
Again. Love is a decision, not a feeling. And here, as often, the decisions to love must be made that respect the needs of the loved one’s feelings so as to do everything you can to reinvigorate the feelings of being loved.
And that includes making decisions to help a loved one heal from past hurts, which brings us to what his duty (as one who can make a decision to love) is to you regarding your efforts to heal from your abortions.
Even if he feels he’s okay, or healed, or just doesn’t want to stir the pot . . . he still needs to help and support you in your healing. Toward that end, I think it is entirely reasonable that you ask, even insist, that he go with you to a Rachel’s Vineyard weekend. If necessary, promise to try harder to forget about and stop bringing up his foolish infatuation if only he will do this for you because you need him for this process. You really do. You need him to understand more fully what you have felt, what you are going through, and how you are working through it.
Remind him that love is a decision. And that you are asking him in love to make a decision to love and to do this for you even though he may think he doesn’t need it.
You are both in my prayers. I pray God will help you to heal on every level and in every way.
My fiance just found out she was pregnant this weekend.
Saturday evening we took the test which said she was 3+ weeks pregnant and after an emergency booking we had our first appointment at the abortion clinic today where they confirmed she was almost 5 weeks. However, the fetus is too small to be seen on the ultrasound so they’d like us to return in a weeks time once it has developed more.
For me, this weekend has been an emotional roller coaster that has ended with me feeling a deep sense of depression.
I want nothing more than to be a father. Especially with the woman of my dreams, however her immediate thought was we need to get rid of it and although It took a while for me to process the information, I feel crushed. I feel as though I should be celebrating, jumping with joy, but she’s taken that away from me. Yes it’s inconvenient, and yes its completely ruined our wedding plans but surely our child deserves a chance at life? What if it’s our only chance to have children?
Up until now she had been getting increasingly broody and we’d decided we’d try for children some time next year. The idea of becoming parents had us grinning from ear to ear just a few short weeks ago. We both have very good jobs in the city and between us earn close to 100k per year.
I proposed approximately 4 months ago and in that time, all the talk has been about preparing for our wedding next year (deposit for the venue has already been paid for). We moved in together shortly after I proposed and things have been absolutely amazing.
All that said, you’d expect she’d be over the moon to be pregnant but apparently not. It’s one year too early for her. One of her many reasons is she’s just started a new job and is worried she won’t qualify for maternity leave. This would mean I’d have to support us all on my wage alone, which would be a struggle (though far from insurmountable in my opinion).
However, the one major issue in our relationship from the start, and the main reason for her objections is her family. Shes Indian, I am black and her family are simply racist to be frank. There’s no other word for it. There were a lot of tears and drama when they found out she’d had a black boyfriend for 2 years (I was only introduced as her fiance), they absolutely hit the roof. Their standing in the Indian community is evidently far more important that their daughter’s happiness. Up until now her brother still refuses to talk to her. Part of the reason she bought a house was so that they could not kick her out onto the street once they found out about me.
Her parents’ initial reaction upon finding out about me wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be (they are still talking to her, though they are extremely frosty). But ever since then I feel as though she is desperately trying to win back their love by doing everything by the book. i.e. Marriage then children in the hope that they may eventually approve of me and be able to hold their heads up high in the community.
It was bad enough that she’d moved out with a black man before marriage and she’s terrified our kids wont be accepted if they are conceived out of wedlock. She sees it as yet another blot of her and her families reputation. Somehow she believes that us being married will solve everything.
I was absolutely furious on hearing this and I spoke my mind on the situation but she seems determined to go through with the abortion, promising me that we can have kids once we’re married and the timing is better. She insists its a cultural thing and I’ll never understand.
We had a massive argument today and she absolutely broke down, shaking like a leaf. We spoke about all her reasons (there are a few others, for example the fact the she lacks folic acid, meaning the child may be deformed) and I’ve reluctantly agreed to the termination.
But I just can’t fight this deep sadness I feel in the pit of my stomach. I can’t even sleep right now, hence the reason i am writing this post.
I just get the feeling we will be making a huge mistake, simply out of her fear of rejection from her entire family. She is already way too attached. She tells me that she ‘talks’ to the baby every morning and has even given her a name (‘Mya’). She is quite an emotional and innocent women at the best of times but for some reason she has a steely resolve on this issue. If I’m honest she’s actually come across rather heartless and cold in her determination to rid herself of this baby. It’s a side I’ve never seen of her and one i really don’t like.
But at the same time I know full well she is not truly considering the impact of what she is about to do next week. I have a feeling one reality hits she will be crushed and revert back to the emotional, innocent woman I know she is. But by that point it may be too late and irreversible damage may have been done to our relationship.
Do you think our relationship can survive if she goes ahead with this? Shall i try harder to convince her its a bad decision? Or do I respect her wishes as I’ve already agreed to, and just pray we can go back to being the happy love-struck couple we have been for the last 2 years?
I am very sorry for the situation you are in.
From what you have said, I think the “I don’t want to disappoint my parents (again)” is probably the biggest reason why she is so determined that abortion is what she “has to do.”
Sadly, given other things you have also said, like the fact that she has given the baby a name, I am highly confident that the abortion will crush her . . . and perhaps both of you. She may be able to bury her feelings for a time, but if and when you have another child, it will all come tumbling back down on her and haunt her (and you) and will really be a burden on the both of you for years. That’s not to say there is not the possibility of healing. There are many great post-abortion healing programs. But it is far better to avoid it than to try to heal with it later…because even with healing there are always scars.
Ask her to read about the risk factors for more severe post-abortion reactions here along with you so you can discuss it in terms of your concern for how this will hurt her and you obligation to protect her from hurting herself (much less your child) just in the hope of making her parents happy (or at actually, just less displeased).
Then read our summaries of research regarding psychological complications and the physical complications associated with abortion.
Remind her that you are only pressing the issue because you are convinced it will be a choice she will regret and one that will damage your future happiness together.
Clearly, it is not easy. But abortion does not turn back the clock and allow things to go on they way they would have as if you had never been pregnant. Instead, it permanently changes how you will see yourselves as persons and as parents and as lovers. Choosing life will reinforce your commitment to each other, your sense of honor and bravery and integrity. Choosing abortion will create doubts in you about yourselves, each other, your worthiness as parents, et cetera.
Many regret their abortions. Few regret giving birth to their children. (The folic acid deficit issue is a weak excuse. Women have given birth to healthy babies for centuries without folic acid supplements, and it is also plenty early to start taking them.)
Let’s accept as a likelihood that her parents will be upset to hear she is giving birth to a half black baby before she is even married. But they have already begun to accept that would happen anyway, a year or two from now.
Worse case scenario . . . they use this as a pretext to “disown her” but within a couple years, all will be forgiven and they will be madly in love with their grandchild. Grandchildren have that effect on grandparents. In they end, they will be glad that you and their daughter were both willing to face their disappointment and persisted in preserving their grandchild’s life instead of taking it.
Abortion, at best, offers a short term solution to short term problems at the expense of long term problems that won’t “naturally” go away. The upset that this surprise pregnancy may cause her family is small and temporary compared to the deep grief and pain abortion can cause to each of you and to your marriage and future happiness.
You are in my prayers. Do not hesitate to call us if we can be of any further help.
If despite everything you try (which should include a refusal to participate in the abortion by going with her), you should make clear that you still love her and will do all you can to help her find healing afterwards, including participating with her in a post-abortion healing program.
But you should make clear how seriously you oppose this by refusing to be pulled into it. Indeed, she shouldn’t insist on you being part of it, since she should respect your conscience. If she has a clear conscience about it, then it shouldn’t bother her that you don’t want to participate in it. After all, she should understand this is a great loss for you. She should be glad that you are willing to continue the relationship even though she is going through with it . . . which shows your respect for her conscience and her need to do what she thinks is the “right thing to do.” But that’s as far as you should go in supporting her in this; be respectful, tell her you will continue to love her even if she goes forward with it, but it is just not something you can participate in. That will help her confront both her conscience and your conscience and will prevent her from blaming you later for “going along with it.”
Psychologically, many people try to shift the blame for the decision to their partner. Don’t participate in that game. Being a couple does not require one to share the blame for decisions that you oppose. You may not be able to stop her. And you should certainly not be disrespectful or unloving. But if a loved one insists on going down what you believe is the wrong path, you shouldn’t go down that path with her . . . nor should she expect and demand it. But you can promise to be there for her on the other side, hoping for the best but also prepared to help her though the worst.
So at the very least change your answer from “I agree to an abortion,” to “I can’t stop you from having it, and I won’t stop loving you if you have it, but I think its wrong, bad for you, bad for me, and bad for our child and our families so I can’t participate in it. But I will love you and be there for you in any way I can afterward, even if you decide to go through it.”
Please let us know if you have any success changing her mind. (I will also pray for her family to be more accepting of both you and your baby.)
I just found out last week that I am 9 weeks pregnant with my second child. My first is only 2,4 and I am doing my final year. when I first suspected that I was pregnant, my bf was willing to support me in having an abortion because we both recognised how emotionally and financially unstable we are. But after I found out and confirmed that I was indeed 9 weeks along he became adamant to abort. He has a plan for everything. Says he will ho home and propose marriage but I can’t help it but think of the trauma that I went through with my first child. I can’t bare the thought of being a single mum to two different kids at 23. I doubt the plans will work or DAT he will marry me. My situation at home is devastating and I think my family might disown me after this child. Some of them know and have counselled me into having this child though I know that none of them will be bothered to carry it when it cries.
I love my bf and I thought he was my soulmate but I can’t say the same after this. He is being totally stubborn and refuses to regard any of my reasons for wanting to abort as a being valid. He also has a child who stays at home with his mum. He is working but some months we have struggled to get by.
I don’t think I’m ready for a child or marriage yet but what if this is what God has planned for me? but sometimes I think we can start over and my abortion is my way of starting over.
I’m scheduled to go and do the abortion next week and I keep postponing it. I think I’m either looking for my bf’s permission or waiting until its too late. I’m afraid of the after effects of an abortion but I have seen people do it and get along fine thereafter.
I actually resent my bf right now for not giving me support. He tells me to just embrace the pregnancy only because he’s a man and has no idea what its like to be pregnant. I have a history of depression and right now I think I’m going through it and I feel it will only get worse if I decide to keep this child. I’m at the lowest point in my life and have broken up with my bf. it hurts so much. I have so many doubts and questions.
Dear Mandy,
I certainly understand why you and others may think that having an abortion will make your life easier. But it won’t.
Given the risk factors you have already described in just your short email, if you have an abortion you are at higher risk for having severe psychological effects, including impacted grief, that may haunt you for the rest of your life.
Please read about the risk factors for more severe post-abortion reactions here. Then read our summaries of research regarding psychological complications and the physical complications associated with abortion.
Talk to a pregnancy help center to get some advice and support. You might also talk with a post-abortion ministry if you want to speak to someone who was in your shoes ten years or more ago and who chose to have an abortion.
Please have courage. As you indicated, you already know that if you give birth to your child you will love him or her unconditionally. The truth is, you have already begun to do so. The lie is, if you have an abortion, you will be able to forget about this child you have already begun to love.
The next year won’t be easy. But I promise you, twenty years from now you will have no doubts that the sacrifices you make today for the child in your womb were the wisest way to invest your time, love and energy.
Many women regret having their abortions. Few ever regret having their children.
Hold onto that truth. Be brave. Be noble. Set the example you want your children to admire.
Don’t hesitate to contact us if we can be of any more help. Phone: 217-525-8202.
I’m 24 my gf for 4 years is 23. We’ve had 2 abortions. After the first we both swore never to do it again but it happened and knowing where we both come from l thought the best thing to do was to abort again…after the first things were kinda back to normal and if there were any changes, I didn’t notice. She really wanted to keep the 2nd though…I convinced her otherwise, for me it was simply facing facts. I never did any research on abortion, I was more of a “think of what’s best for you and for the child’s future” kinda guy.
She had the 2nd almost a year after the first, and it totally devastated her. I’ve always loved her and there’s no other person I even consider sharing my life with but since then our relationship has been on a downward slope. She never says it but she acts like she hates me, she’s extremely unhappy, she’s talked about suicide a few times but I only began to see how serious this could be after reading this. She was at my place yesterday and I had never felt more disconnected from her like I did yesterday…I could tell the feeling was mutual.
I feel our relationship is headed for the rocks and I desperately want to avoid that…I love her with all my heart and don’t want to lose her, but she’s hurting and I can’t fix it…I have assured her that everything would be fine but she doesn’t believe they will. Many of the examples written here illustrate the feeling I think she has. Bottom line is I don’t want to lose her it would kill me. But thinking about it, it feels like this is my own punishment for what happened…….
I am sorry for all the two of you are going through. I’m also very glad to hear of you love for her and your desire to fix things and your openness to admitting it was a mistake to encourage the abortion.
Have you told her that, yet? Gently, and very apologetically, you need to bring the abortion issue back into the open to share your regrets and your fears about what it is doing to her. She may react just with tears . . . or with intense anger. If the latter, admit that you deserve her anger but still pray she will someday somehow forgive you.
Tell her you are willing to go through post-abortion counseling with her, so you can work through your own loss and regrets at the same time as she works through hers.
Do not let it come across as if the loss is only hers. You may have rationally distanced yourself from the children you lost in the abortions, but that is a loss she will need to see you begin to open up to and acknowledge if she is going to trust that you are working through the same losses and grief that she is experiencing.
There are many good post-abortion healing programs out there. Some, such as Rachel’s Vineyard, accommodate couples. Others are specifically for men or women.
Your right when you say “she’s hurting and I can’t fix it.” But you can shift your posture and open the door for healing and invite her to go through it, promising your support and also admitting that you need healing to, and want her support also.
I truly think you can complete that journey together, especially if you are humble enough to admit fault in not having researched all of this before this tragedy, and even more importantly, for not having trusted her instincts when she said she didn’t want to go through another abortion. I fully understand that the the logic of your head, regarding finances, timing, et cetera, having either of the children “didn’t make sense.” But the logic of the head is different from the experiences of the heart. While you both escaped sleepless nights and changing of diapers, you also lost the opportunity to grow your relationship with each other and your children.
Be humble. Embrace the sorrow and regrets which mark the path to repentance, renewal, healing and maturing in your love for each other and your embrace of life and any new lives, God willing, that you may still bring into the world in the future.
You are in my prayers.
http://afterabortion.org/help-healing/
I am 38 years old, in March of 2013 I had. Just gotten engaged. An two weeks later I found out I was pregnant . From the start of my relationship with my now husband he had stated that he don’t not want any more children. Unless he ended up marrying a woman that had none. The night I realized I was pregnant, I told him. All the signs were there, I was overly tired, I had no energy to even go our an hang out with his friends. He pushed me to go , so we went. That night after leaving his friends, he wanted to stop at the stir to get the tests for me to take to be sure. I took them and all of them had the same result. I was pregnant. We went to bed, both in shock, I was happy about it because I was told I would not be able to have any more kids. He was not happy. The next morning, he left without a word to me. He went to go work out and gather his thoughts. He came back an sat me down to talk to me. The first words out of his mouth were “if you have the baby I will never lover you the same”, the second thing he said was “my kids will hate me and never talk to me again”, then he satiated we don’t have the money for another child, and that with my last two children I was sick all the time and we shouldn’t risk my health.
I was in utter turmoil. I loved his so very much and I wanted a baby that god had blessed us with, I wanted to have a baby that was part of me, and part of him to raise and care for, to love an watch grow up. In stead I did the unthinkable. I didn’t want him to not love me the same, I didn’t want his kids to hate him. So I crushed under pressure an had an abortion. I can still see the pills in the small paper cup, I can still feel and hear the sigh of relief when I finally swallowed those pills. I know I was the one who drank the water, and I was the one who put the pills in my mouth. I take full responsibility for my actions. Five days after the abortion, my husband went to his Dr. And got snipped… Then proceeded to let everyone on Facebook know about it.
I still love my husband very much, but at the same time I hate him for all it’s worth. I have my moments when I have a hard time an I cry silently (he works nights) so he doesn’t see me. However this weekend was one of the times he got to see the full effect of what I felt. I spent most of my Sunday in bed away from anyone else and would just cry. He pushed and pushed for me to talk to him and tell him what was wrong, and when I did….. He plainly stated that he feels the same way now, as he did back then. I love him, I always have. I want my marriage to be solid, but I don’t know how to “fix” the issue. I’ve tried explaining how much my heart aches from the decision I made, how every time I see a pregnant woman it takes my breath away an I have a deep pain in my tummy, how every time I see a baby I just want to hold it and cry … The only thing he tells me is ” you need to talk to someone”.
Hi there, I need a little help, me and my bf of about 2 years found out we were expecting about 4 weeks ago. We are two days from our appointment for an abortion, and im spazzing. I was fine with this when we first found out cuz I know we don’t have the means to raise a child, but I am so lost and stressed, I already hate myself, and worry my bf and I will hate each other, I can’t lose our child and him, how do couples get over this, how can we survive this? I wish they didn’t make me wait so long for our appt, I feel to connected, and its driving me insane.
These second thoughts and the ambivalence you are feeling are a warning sign. This is one of the risk factors for having more emotional and relationship problems after an abortion compared to women who do not experience these doubts and stress prior to an abortion.
There are likely other risk factors present. Please read our page about the risk factors for abortion complications.
I’d also suggest reading some testimonies of other women who chose abortion for similar reasons and our posts on the impact of abortion on relationships.
Please don’t give up hope. Many women regret having an abortion. Almost none regret having their child. Indeed, those who changed their minds are so thankful that they did.
Be grateful for the way your subconscious is creating the stress which is warning you away from this terrible mistake. I promise, you won’t regret choosing life . . . for despite the extra effort it will require, you children will be the greatest blessings of your life. Don’t reject this blessing. Embrace it!
My boyfriend and I were together for about a year and a half when I found out I was pregnant. He has always been a wonderful boyfriend to me but I have a tendency to lash out and say things I don’t mean and it had taken a toll on our relationship. This news couldn’t have come at a worse time.
I have always been pro-life but the minute I found out, I started bawling. I have never really wanted children, which makes me sound heartless but I always had big plans for my life and raising a child was scary to me, especially in this world.
I was so terrified and when I told him he said he would drop out of school and get a job to support us. But instantly I said that I would take care of it. I couldn’t even believe I was saying that but it’s the first thing that came to mind. Later that week I was having doubts and we got into a big argument and he said he wasn’t ready to be a father yet and that he wanted to be able to enjoy his youth more and finish school. I got angry at him and called him selfish and all sorts of things. The next day we got in another argument about a can of corn (I kid you not). We were on the way to a friends bbq and I freaked out and told him to take me home and that I wanted to break up and went single on Facebook and everything.
When I called him a million times to come back to get me he said no. He said he was tired of the way I talked to him and that I wanted to breakup so that’s what I was getting. I was devastated. I didn’t know what to do. I called my mom and went to my parents for the night. The fight continued and he didn’t want to speak to me or see me. I was so caught up in our break up that I don’t think I was in the right state of mind to make a rational decision. I went through with the procedure. He offered to take me and take care of me afterward but I was so angry at him.
We were broken up for about three weeks. I gave up trying to talk to him and tried to move on. He contacted me regularly but I stopped replying. Then he told me he wanted to talk and get back together. We eventually did but it was not an easy process. I felt like a stranger in the home I’d lived in. I felt like I didn’t know him. Eventually we got back to normal and I moved back in and went back to school.
It has been almost two years since the incident and I still blame him. I am relieved I don’t have a child but I am so angry at myself for what I did. I feel like a terrible person. Every pregnant person reminds me. Every baby reminds me. If I hear anything about an abortion I cringe and want to cry. Even typing the word makes me feel like an awful person. I feel like it’s a huge stain on my life and I’d be lying if I said I don’t blame him for it. I did not feel he was as supportive as he could have been even though we were broken up.
We are normally fine but I get random times when I think about it and become so deeply depressed and lash out at him. I don’t think I will ever get over it. I don’t think I’ll ever forgive him for not openly welcoming the idea of a child even though I myself didn’t. Sometimes I just want a fresh start but he is good to me. I’ve never worried about him cheating on me, he buys me all kinds of things, brings me home flowers, takes me on dates. How do I know what to do?
This will remain a big issue between you, at least in a “secret” subconscious way, until you both confront and work through it.
I strongly believe that both of you would benefit from participating in a post-abortion healing program either as a couple or separately.
While I understand your feelings of anger toward him, and your 20-20 hindsight wish that he had somehow been supportive in exactly the way you would have needed him to be in order to not have had the abortion . . . it sounds like he initially was willing to do whatever it took to make it possible to have the child, including getting a job. The truth was that it was a hard time for both of you and hard for both of you to communicate without being at risk of being misunderstood or exaggerating or just letting your feelings run ahead of the reasonable parts of your minds.
It also sounds like you need couple’s counseling. You admit that you have “a tendency to lash out and say things I don’t mean and it had taken a toll on our relationship.” You both need to work through that, especially when you have something like this abortion hurt inside you which can fuel your anger and toxic language in ways you won’t even notice or understand at the time these outbursts take place.
Don’t let this simmer between you. If your relationship is to heal and grow into all that it can become, now is a good time to open up this wound, remove the pus and dead tissue, and get both of you moving forward.
You are both in my prayers. I have great hope for you that you can both heal and learn from your pasts so that you will be better and wiser people and parents in the future.
About a year and a half ago, my girlfriend told me that she was pregnant. I had a part time job and was a full time student. She told me that she wanted to have an abortion the same day she found out she was pregnant. I pleaded with her and begged her not to do it. I would have went and got another job or maybe two if that means that we can keep the baby. She did it anyways. She asked me if I could go with her while the abortion gets done. I said no. I could not go through that. It would have broken me as a person to go through that. Ever since then we have been at each throats. When we fight she says the same thing, “Where were you when I needed you the most?”(referring to me not being there when the abortion happened) I agree with this article on the part where it says people stay with each other due to the grief. But it has been hard. I love this girl so much. I wanted our baby so much. I would have been a good father and i would have never left them. Sometimes i find myself crying about it when i see a father with his child playing and being happy. I read other people saying that, “its the woman’s body and its her choice” or “Men do not have to go through the pain of the abortion” I feel its not fair. It is the man’s baby just as much as it is the woman’s. I did not have the most money in the world and neither did she. Everybody struggles. And i still feel to this day that we would have been fine. She told me that she wanted to give the baby a better life that we had. I told her with me and her in the baby’s life at the same time, our baby would already have a better start than we did. Our fathers were not in the picture.
Dear Zion,
My heart goes out to you and your girlfriend. I understand it is very hard for both of you.
Perhaps you can share with her a copy of what you have written to us. Maybe she already understands how you feel. But maybe she doesn’t…or at least has been afraid to.
She imagines that if you had supported the abortion life would be better . . . and perhaps, if she is facing doubts and grief issues herself, that if you had been in favor of the abortion she wouldn’t have any of the negative feelings about it. She’s wrong, as all the testimonies of women here and elsewhere show.
I understand how the defensive part in her blames you and says “Where were you when I needed you most?” On the other hand, she’s blind to the other side of that question: where was she when you and your baby needed her most? She feels you didn’t stand up for and with her. You feel the same way, even more so, in that she not only failed to support your desire to be a father but also to welcome your (yours and hers) child into the world.
Pointing fingers at each other won’t help. Nor will blaming yourselves. You need to acknowledge each others hurts, be empathetic to each other’s hurts, doubts and confusion, and focus on helping each other to heal and become the best versions of yourselves that you can be.
If she will consider it, I strongly recommend you participate as a couple in a post-abortion healing program. Such programs are offered by several post-abortion healing groups, one of which is Rachel’s Vineyard. Even if she continues to believe she made the best practical choice given the circumstances, she can at least learn to understand why it was so hard on you and why blaming you for not supporting the abortion is not only unfair but unloving and disrespectful. You are who you are. If she loves you for who you are, part of that love is because you are a sensitive, loving man who would be a good father and wanted to be a good father. Being mad at you for standing up for who you are and what you believe when you refused to approve of and watch the abortion of your child is unfair. On the other hand, I understand this tendency in her, because it points to her own doubts, fears, and hurts that day and afterward. And as I said above, in some respect blaming you is an excuse she holds to, imagining that if you had been all in favor of the abortion she and you would both be happy as larks today. It’s a comforting fantasy, but it just isn’t true.
I pray she will agree to work through a post-abortion healing program, at least for your sake and for the benefit of your relationship, and will also discover it will be good for herself as well.
Thank you for your reply El.
yesterday me and my girlfriend ended our relationship. Before I left I asked her, “Do you think me and you would have been happier if I just supported you decision and if I was there for you when the abortion happened?” she replied “Yes.” I feel that its not fair for someone i loved so much can be so selfish about the baby that still to this day i miss and love so much. You were right. If i would have supported her maybe things would have worked out. But i’m not changing my beliefs or how I feel over a happy relationship.
Thank you for this article.
It helped out a lot.
I’m sorry for all the losses you have faced. But I’m also confident that things will get better and you will find a good woman who will love you and appreciate your love.
I don’t for a minute believe that if you had supported the abortion (i.e.; suppressed and denied your own beliefs and feelings to parrot hers) that things would have truly been better. They may have been better for awhile, but it would still have destroyed your relationship in other ways.
Both of your remain in my prayers.
I would love some advice as I feel stuck as to what the right thing to do is. I reciently meet a guy and things have been going great. He makes me really happy. Just last week I found out I am pregnant to a friend of mine. I am going to have an abortion as I can’t continue with the pregnancy due to medical complications … It’s a long story. I feel so numb and extremely sad but am getting support from lots of friends and family. My question is tho … Do I tell the new guy I am seeing? We meet online and have done coffee and dinners a few times and talked over text but we both really like one another and I feel that we will one day end up in a relationship together. My thoughts are – one if I tell him and he freaks out he will most likely never contact me again or two I don’t tell him and we do end up in a relationship then technically I have “hidden” something from him.
We haven’t been intimate together in anyway other than kissing and have only been “seeing” one another for two months.
Now the worst part – I actually “meet” him online and after our first date I then slept with my friend. This sounds horrible and that’s because it is but I have been sleeping with this friend of mine on and off for years and he came to my house drunk and to eliminate an argument I went along with it. But that was weeks ago and I didn’t then have the feelings or real connection that I do with the new guy I have been seeing.
Please help I am hating on myself for so many reason as is and I have no idea what to do….
First, while I realize that at first glance it makes sense to have an abortion because you never wanted a child with your friend, it is very important to look at your own unique risk factors for being at greater risk of one or more physical or psychological complications from having an abortion.
Please read “Identifying High Risk Abortion Patients” or “Abortion decisions and the duty to screen: clinical, ethical, and legal implications of predictive risk factors of post-abortion maladjustment“ for a more complete list of risk factors, including citations to the studies identifying each risk factor.
You should also read our page summarizing studies related to the psychological and physical risks of abortion.
Regarding talking to your new boyfriend, yes, you need to be honest with him now, before you have an abortion. That will give him an opportunity to be honest with you, in return. Otherwise keeping this secret will always eat at you and create doubts in you about your relationship and him.
I really don’t think he will consider the fact that you had exchanged some emails on line to have meant that you were thereby “his” and obligated to wait for him. It is a bigger issue whether or not he can be understanding and supportive, and circumstances have given you the first test of this. Perhaps he will pass it with flying colors. If not, the relationship is doomed anyway because it will either be poisoned by your secret or by its belated disclosure.
Talk to him. And share with him your concern about any risk factors you identify when you evaluate yourself in comparison to the list of risk factors.
dear EL,
i am 37. i had an abortion on jan 2013. its my first pregnancy ever with my bf who i love dearly – he is younger tho, 30. i never have kids nor marry. we both artist and at times we think we should focus on our career and this is the right decision. after the surgery, my family not only ‘not-supportive’ but also kicked us out from our place accusing we are the murders which take months for us to recover. we live both hk and paris. i had the surgery done in hk. and every time i come back hong kong will bring back this post abortion depression.
towards the 2013 christmas my emotions are totally breaking down due to a year ago we known of the pregnancy and i separated with my bf for almost 2 months. in between i tried to open up myself and meeting a lots of new people – still i feel broken. then we see each other again before the one year anniversary abortion we went to the cemetery in paris to let go the grief – that day was peaceful.
and we get back together becos i love him so much as i know he love me dearly as well.
since end jan – i back hk by myself to attend my sis wedding who also 4 months pregnancy.
but the last few weeks i am falling back into a deep dark thoughts – i didnt want to see anyone or talk to anyone and lying on bed all day n night.
i feel i did something so wrong – it would be my only chance to get pregnancy and i killed it – its very hurtful becos that virtual babe is the one i am having with the man who i love very much. i didnt keep the babe becos i grow up with single parent and i dont want to replay the history again. its more than a year now and every time i am apart from my bf i feel so weak – mentally and physically. very often i fall into very low motivation or no motivation towards my works and projects. i usually not a baby person yet the denial make things even worst. abortion did hit me a big times – i read many other people’s stories i know i am not the only one i also know there is no magic fix – sometimes it heal sometimes never.
but i dearly love my bf – how can i drag myself up the water..?
looking forward to hear from you and thankyou so much for your time
greetings,
r
You need to find more support and guidance through your post-abortion healing process. Please read our page on post-abortion healing programs. If you cannot find a program, you may benefit from reading a book about post-abortion healing such as Forbidden Grief. It will help you to better understand your feelings and experiences as you see how other women are also affected. You might even try reaching out to some other women who may be experiencing grief like yourself to start your own little peer support group. Working together, you may be able to find resources and training to help each other better. At the very least, you will have other women with whom you can share your feelings and troubles in a supportive environment.
You are right. There is no magic fix. But there is every reason to have confidence that you can use this experience to learn, grow, and heal. Don’t give up hope. Use your grief to motivate you to find other women like yourself who have healed and are trained in how to help others, and maybe one day you can do the same for other women and men.
Badly need help here , i read all the stories and get touch too. anyway , me and my gf just had an abortion a week ago, before that we are so so much in love with each other , we spent most of the time each other and travels everywhere. Till now cant imagine that this is happening.
after we decide to abort we thought a lot and she understand why the needed for termination, and she will not because of this issue will leave me and she even told my sister that she will be very grateful to continue our both relationship after termination. Anyway, on the termination day, i sent her home after that and she didnt even wanted to contact me either or answering my call or reply my text. i was so upset and thought that she wanted to be alone for a while. Eventually, the next day she called me up and said wanted to end the relationship and ask me dont even find her anymore. at that moment my mind was totally blank and my heart was totally broken into pieces and i can even feel the fire burning in it.. i was so so upset and keep asking her to meet me to have a face to face talk. and what she reply is Not the right time yet.
I understand that she is suffering depression on emotionally and physically. But i still wanted to take care of her and even wanted to care about her and worry her. for the past few days she didnt even bother to reply me at all. and will just ignore the call when i called her. Everyday i wrote a greeting card, saying i love her and why wanted to be suffering together and we were so in love. We have to overcome it together instead of herself as i am hurt too and she is not alone. I tell her that give me a chance to make things right to show her the path of our future.. everyday i wrote a greeting card and sneak to her apartment and leave the letter there. Sounds silly and stupid, even i created a website on my own. the domain name is me n her name, inside i post a lot of pictures and wrote a lot of nice sweet memories that we used to past together , i even post my current feeling ( endless Pain ) on the website to express what my heart feel and what truly i gonna tell her about the grief.I realized that she had gone in to the webpage almost everyday to read the blog and see the pictures. I did everything i can even i buy some healthy vitamins and boiled some soup and sneak to her apartment and hang on the door . until today now had been a week and i still continue to do so . but she seems like so cool to me and just ignore me. i really did a lot of meaningful stuff try to make her touch and happy and make her come back to me. I duno why it could be totally change in just a day , she was so understanding before the termination and promised will get along with me as she loved me so much, but after the progress it was totally unexpected. i am very upset , past few days i admitted into hospital as i fell from building due the stuck on wires, and i texted her let her know but she didnt even care and felt so cold to me. my heart …. until now i can feel the burning.. Ya of course i wan her back, she is the most perfect girl i ever met in my life , she is my angel , and i am so stupid to make her walk out from my heart. To me she is my lifetime partner, and i told her. no matter how, she is still in my heart. although even she ignore me, i just non stop to do stuff that hope to make her touch and come back to me even i queue for 12 hours to buy a nice shop lots for her to have her own business after our married as the shop house is just nearby my future plan married house with her that will be ready in next 2 years. i did everything i could but nothing seem to come back positive.
I pray to god every moment to let my this angel to get back to me and i will show her our future pathway. and in return in the future i will help more people that need help and do more charity and will always go church and listen to god, i prayed these every moment.
I read all of the forum, i really need some advise and help. whether what should i do now. i really love her so much, but she is not ready to meet me and said she wanted to stop the relationship with me. In my country here i had checked it didnt have the healing class for me to attend. i really duno what can i do now , i am so lost, i lost my soul too. All i want now is get her back. can someone, just anyone help me with it. So sorry if you guys think that this sounds funny but truly is because i love her thats why i tried all things to get her back .. but at the moment now conclusion is failed. did i need continue doing all those by writing her card everyday too and post something on the blog on what i felt.
I hope you everyone who read this can pray for me and will bless me, as i really wish her to come back to me.
Thank you.
Dear K,
It may not be possible to save your relationship. Certainly, just begging her to come back is not enough. Buying her stuff will not help. The only hope is apologizing to her for encouraging the abortion and truly feeling regret and remorse for the death of your child.
This idea you keep coming back to that she understood the “need for the termination” and was agreed to continuing the relationship (before the abortion actually took place) totally misses the boat. Before the abortion, it might have made logical sense in her head that it was somehow the best decision and that she would and could still love you. After the abortion, logic means nothing. In her heart, she feels she has killed her own baby…and your baby…at your request.
This is a profound, earth shattering . . . no, a soul-shattering realization. And your pursuit of her, and efforts to put things back to “normal” ignore the fact that overwhelming fact that you are now both parents of a dead child . . . one she is trying to grieve. Meanwhile, instead of seeing you as joining in the grief, dismay, and regret for having made this terrible mistake, she sees you as simply focused on winning her approval for yourself
If there is any chance for the two of you, it will come only after you are less concerned with the two of you and more concerned with repentance and grief for the loss of your child. It is the latter that her heart is focused upon. As long as your heart is focused on the former, not the latter, your hearts are simply not in sync.
Stop pressing her to get back together. Instead, find a way to express your regret and sorrow and desire to share her grief rather than demand her love.
Dear EI,
I really and being touched for your reply and helped. I keep refresh this webpage awaiting for your reply. Your comment really means a lot to me. I appreciated it a lot.
Ok. These two days, i had stop pressing her to come back to me. I tried to talk to her but she ignore, she dun even wanted to meet me at all or replying my text. All i can do is post on the webpage that i created and wrote there saying that i am regret and i am heartbroken too. I wanted to see her so much and take care of her . but environment disagree, i even explained to her how upset am i and hope i can turn back time and wanted to share with her what i had been doing all this researches for healing this progress but she ignore and say no, i did offer too to go together abroad to new zealand to attend the rachael vineyard courses for healing. Sorry if wrong spelling.
we are totally lack of communications right now, i am so lost. how long will she gonna be depressed and calm down? i am so sad for seeing her like this, it is like she is hurting herself. Although she keep ask me not to care her, i still care as i said is because of love i care you . and i hope we could bound together and grief and we shall take together and not just you.We need to be together to overcome this losses and tragedy . As grieving together is healing.
i am desperately need advise. I really cant do much now, what can i do is wait for her to calm down? but i am worried about she will be leaving as she will be thinking a lots especially from people around her will effect her emotions and thinking.
I am really lost.. I pray every moment to god to help me out.
Thanks again EI for your reply.
There is no magic fix. There may be no fix. It may be weeks, months, even years before she can even bear to see you. In seeing or talking to you, she is reminded of the loss of her child. This is very hard on her. Even the healing process, and the idea of going to a Rachel’s Vineyard healing program, is hard for her to contemplate. All you can do is pray and seek forgiveness from God for your part in what has happened to your child and her.
Been with the most wonderful man for almost 3 years now. It’s long distance at the moment because after getting our Bachlors we’ve been getting financial things in order before moving in together. Currently I’m late, like really late, but scared to get tested. The idea of having some parasite in my body leaching the life out of me makes me feel like I want to tear my skin off. Pregnancy disgusts me, and I hate my body for it even being possible, it makes me sick to think about. I’m scared to tell him. If he’s happy, it would break my heart, cause I don’t think I can go through with it. If he’s not, I’m not sure I could handle the rejection. If I had a child I know I would hate it , and hate myself, but I don’t want to hurt my boyfriend. It’s not a matter of practical reasons, we’re not fantastic financially but we’re in a place where it wouldn’t be unthinkable to start a family. It’s strictly my issues with pregnancy and childbirth, I can’t describe the level of revulsion it illicits from me, it makes me feel putrid and used like I’m nothing but an incubator for this thing that doesn’t care if I live or die, just that it can live and burst out of me like some slimy alien. And the more likely it seems the more I feel this way. I’m not maternal, but he’s the gentlest man I’ve ever met. He’s so kind an loving. He’s the only guy I’ve ever been with that would make me think twice about an abortion just by being so wonderful. I don’t believe in any sort of god, or divinity, and I don’t believe nature knows best, it can’t seem to stop humans from destroying it or themselves so I don’t really have any faith in its track record or wisdom.
I’m sorry to hear that this wonderful man’s love for you has, up to now, failed to inspire any latent maternal instincts.
If you really love this guy, that is the most important issue that may help you overcome your revulsion. Indeed, I suspect he is the only “medicine” that can cure you of this revulsion to new life once you being to realize, appreciate, and love the fact that this new life is part of him…part of this wonderful man you love…part of the way you and he will both see your love expressed in new ways and also learn to love each other in ways you never would have imagined without this child to join and bond you together. In years to come, what you see of him in your child may be your greatest joy in your life.
On a metaphysical level, an overflowing of love that leads to that love creating something new and also worthy of love is what having a child is all about.
While I know you don’t believe in God or anything, this idea that overflowing love needs a way to create new avenues of love is not only why believers believe that God created humans to love and be loved and to witness God’s love and creativity, but also is the reason that Christians can hope to understand the mystery of the Trinity, one God who is also a relationship of three Persons, metaphorically explained to us as a Father who eternally begets His Son, and the Father and Son loving each other so intensely that that love is itself personified as the Holy Spirit. And being made in the “image and likeness of God,” human beings are designed for relationships and the love of man and woman is intended to overflow into the creation of a new person/new relationship/new love all of which are intended to enrich our own lives, help us to understand the value of relationships, and in some way better understand God and the Holy Trinity of love.
I doubt these religious metaphors are of much help. In fact, given your intense hostility to procreation–which is clearly unusual and perhaps deeply rooted in some trauma or psychological issues which have undermined or reversed the maternal instincts normally found in women–it may be helpful to speak to a psychiatrist or psychologist to try to understand why you feel such revulsion. Perhaps they wouldn’t be of much help…they would probably blame it on some hostilities toward your own mother or father, I suspect. But it may be helpful to talk to a professional. Your hostility toward pregnancy is not normal, even from a purely biological, evolutionary perspective which is design psyches to desire reproduction.
Instead of seeing this pregnancy as a crisis and parasite, consider the possibility that it is an unexpected gift that will . . . while forcing you outside of your comfort zone . . . may turn into the greatest adventure and growth experience of your lives, one you will never regret and will be thankful that you found the courage to accept.
Hi All,
My heart hurts reading some stories here- Id like to open and share my story in hopes of some positive clarity for anyone else in this situation and hopefully me.
Im currently in a relationship and my GF is 10 weeks pregnant (she also has a teen from a previous BF) She stopped taking BC and casually mentioned it to me, while we continued to have unprotected sex- I feel we were irresponsible but it was intentional on her part since its the outcome she always wanted. From the outset of our relationship i expressed my desire and goal for our relationship was to grow old together, while hers has been to bear my child. We do not deal with stress very well and she verbally threatens to leave me after every heated disagreement, while I’ve internalized my agreement to give up on the relationship Im also trying to grow and not give up so easily as Ive done when I was younger. So we’re both with one foot in and other out the door.
Before my current GF- i was dating with no commitments and had a friend with benefits- she’s an older woman who expressed the desire to have children with me before her time ran out. I disagreed because i wanted to be a father in the conventional sense and have a solid family structure. Since shes older and had surgery for a weight issue she told me it was nearly impossible for her to bear children. Through conversations she found out i had a low tolerance for booze and one day came and brought booze to get drunk and that led to having unprotected sex for the first time. Due to the long distance we rarely saw one another after and so i moved on, but a long time passed by and she finally reached out to tell me she had been raising my child who was now 2 years old and didnt tell me because she knew how i felt- since we had already discussed it. I felt betrayed, used, violated, etc- but after conferring with my Mother and visiting my daughter i came to love her – though i still have resentment towards her mother. This news came two years into my relationship and I havent had the heart to break this news to my GF- who is now pregnant!! We discussed how we feel and I let her speak first to not influence her decision and she voiced not keeping the baby in fear of our unstable relation and being a single mom again . I assured her I would not abandon her or my responsibility but couldnt guarantee staying in a relationship with someone i felt connived me- she doesnt know i already have a daughter. Im so stressed and an emotional mess- I feel i’ve been betrayed all over again and cant trust my GF.I feel this will end our relationship either way cause she’ll resent me no matter which course we take. I told her lets keep this baby but she doesnt feel secure in our future, and honestly neither do i- financially, emotionally. While i wish we could plan and build a proper future for our child, I think of my parents who didnt plan and had me. They struggled to parent me, and i was mostly raised by my grandmother, and I dont want this for my child. First thing my GF wants to do is get back to work and have our child taken care of by someone. While I feel blessed, I rather deal with my guilt for life, than bring a child into our world of struggle (which comes from a mindset of past and present hurt). I can only pray unto GOD for guidance and forgiveness.
Dear Kenny,
Thanks for sharing your story and reaching out for advice. First, let me suggest that you should print out your comment and share it with your girlfriend. Then talk honestly about your fears, and why you didn’t tell her about your other child, and also about your desire to be a good father . . . and how that applies to her child, too.
Secondly, when she told her she was pregnant and you waited to hear what she had to say “to not influence her decision,” your silence, or more specifically, your failure to rush in and say “I’ll be a good dad. We’ll work it out. Don’t even think about abortion,” immediately influences her decision in that you failed to show a desire for the child and a commitment to working things out.
Third, while you may think that it would be easier to live with the guilt (for both you and her) than to “bring a child into our world of struggles,” the truth is that most people, despite all their struggles in life, are very glad they were born. And for most, their parents and siblings end up very glad they were born, too. I promise, neither of you will ever regret seeing your child born into this world. There will be struggles and disagreements . . . but the joys and the connection and relationship you will have with this child will more than offset all the downsides.
I understand and agree that you should not necessarily rush into marriage just because of the pregnancy. But it is a good reason to seriously begin to explore and build toward a marriage if both of you are willing to commit yourselves to it. Love is only superficially about feelings. On a deeper level, it is a decision. If this child can help hold you together and strengthen your decision to love each other and keep coming back to each other as you go through the struggles of life, your child will be a triple blessing upon all of you.
Please encourage your girlfriend to talk to a pregnancy help center and a post-abortion ministry before she goes to see an abortion counselor. This is an irreversible choice and one which has real psychological and physical risks.
All three of you are in my prayers.
I’ve been with my boyfriend for almost three years now. During this time I had two abortions. During those times I was very confused and not sure what I wanted to do I was in school at the time I also played a sport. He was very concerned as he cried when I told him the first time but he said he was ready he was in school as well (both of us in college) I wanted to have my baby but I wasn’t sure enough to actually keep it. Since then about a year past since my second abortion. I think about it every single day ! I don’t feel comfortable bringing it up to him every time I think of it because it is a lot and plus I don’t want to seem like I’m nagging him.
My issue now is I want a baby so bad every month I wish my period didn’t come because I want a baby . But at the same time my mind goes back and forth hoping my period does come. We stil have unprotected sex and I haven’t been pregnant again since the last time. I went to the doctor to be sure I can get pregnant she said sure you can and offered me birth control. I asked him would he want me to take birth control since we don’t use condoms and I’ve been pregnant twice and he said no. Could it be he feels the same way I do about wanting a baby? How do I get my mind off of wanting a baby so bad? I’ve always loved babies but before the abortions I’ve never wanted a baby so bad! Me and my boyfriend babysit my baby cousin all the time and we love it! We love treating him like ours. Recently he has said if it happens again (me getting pregnant) honestly I wouldn’t mind at this point. He has graduated and has a great job already. I am only 22 I know I shouldn’t be thinking about this but I can’t help it !
How do I stop feeling this way? What does it mean ? Is it normal a year after an abortion? Should I tell him how I feel about wanting a baby do bad? I don’t want to scare him away but a part of me thinks he feels the same way .
Thanks for reading 🙂
Dear Tatiana,
First things first. Please call one of the hotline numbers on our page with resources and tips for finding a post-abortion healing program. You will be able to then talk to a woman, most likely who has been through a very similar experience, who can listen and understand and support you in ways your boyfriend and doctor can’t.
It is very important for you to work through the healing process and untangle the web of grief, ambivalence, and guilt surrounding the past abortions which may otherwise come up to haunt your relationship with your boyfriend and also your ability to bond and mother your future children. It would be even better if your boyfriend were to participate in a post-abortion program also. There are separate programs for men or programs that include men and women as couples, such as on a Rachel’s Vineyard weekend. Working through your separate issues, and your issues with the abortions as a couple, together can truly deepen and strengthen your relationship.
Second, it is very common for women to have intense feelings to become pregnant following an abortion. Very often these feelings become more intense near the anniversary of the conception date of the aborted baby or around what would have been the expected due date. The body/mind has its own internal clock and knows, as these days approach, that something is missing (the baby) and has a desire to fill this void.
Having a child does help some post-abortion symptoms, but it can also bring out new ones . . . such as intense over protectiveness for the born child, or for some, difficulty bonding with a baby one “doesn’t deserve.” This is why it important to start the post-abortion healing process sooner rather than later. Before you become pregnant, if possible.
Third, I recommend that the two of you stop putting off committing yourselves to each other and your children. 22 is a great age to start a family. Do it right. Get married. Then, get pregnant. Bring your child into a home with parents who are committed to each other and the raising of children. All the other plans, school and work, are the externals which can be planned and worked out around the central value of a good life . . . which is relationships, specifically a committed relationship with yours spouse and your children.
You are in my prayers.
Hello, this is my first time doing something like this… but i’m at the point where I think I need to. I had an abortion on may 27th,2011, so just nearing 3 years ago when I was 19. It was supposed to be due the day before my birthday. I am now 21.
I’m kind of reaching out for help or advice or something. My boyfriend, well recently ex boyfriend, and I made the decision together but as we were home in two opposite ends of the US I went by myself. I’m in college so I was a freshman then. There are days when i don’t think about it but then others when i think about it randomly and i have bad days where i just break down. We never really talked about it because who wants to just bring something like that up? The other day, though, we had been drinking, got into an argument and all of the anger flowed out. Said we wish it never happened, regretted everything. I said he ruined my life, went I.to great detail about the baby of things that he never entirely knew (in terms of how i was 3 months and what that meant). So much emotion on both parts were spilled out and it was kind of bad. I regret telling him some of the things i did because now i feel more alone than ever. I want to forget it and block it out but there’s just so much with it still that even now i’m holding back tears.
I feel like something is wrong with me. Actually i’m positive there is. I love him so much but it’s hard for me to love myself because of what i’ve done so long ago. I changed completely afterwards. i push everyone away unintentionally and i really feel like i’m alone even when i have loved ones. The argument reopened a wound and now that he’s gone..won’t answer the phone and rhings.
i’m an emotional wreck internally.I cant stop thinking about what happened seemingly forever ago. I don’t want this to keep resurfacing and causing problems in our relationship. Or any other aspects of my life. I don’t know what to do.
Hi Amanda. If you have not read it yet, please read our page on finding a post-abortion healing program that will work for you. Some of these, like Rachel’s Vineyard, offer programs that are also for men and/or couples. If he is hurting too, it would be great for both of you to seek help either individually or together.
If you want to open the dialogue with him, even if he won’t answer the phone, consider the very old fashioned, but very meaningful step of writing him a short letter. I suggest keeping it short so you can avoid going into your hurts and pain (saving that for a safer time to discuss these with him again), but instead just acknowledging that you are both hurting and that when people are hurting they often say things that are harsh, unfair, unkind or exaggerated and that you are sorry for the ways you may have hurt him in your conversation and also offering forgiveness for any thing he may have said because he too was speaking from a place of hurt. Maybe you don’t need to say much more than that, other than to express your hope that you can both find healing for each other and yourselves and come to some peace, and then describe to him your interests and thoughts regarding finding a post-abortion healing program . . . offering and encouraging him to consider doing the same thing, either with you or by himself.
You are both in our prayers. Please drop us a line again when you find some help and feel that you are on the healing path.
Hi I’m a 36 year old man who recently went through my gf having an abortion which I supported her decision in doing so. I have totally stood by her throughout the process and about 2 weeks after going through with it she left me and moved out. We had no prior love loss toward each other and i’ve been doing everything I can to try and get her to come home as well as support her in her decision to leave and spend time alone. She’s not facing the issues at all however, hasn’t gone to her follow up appointment and I’ve heard that can severely effect a woman’s hormones and make her do things she normally wouldn’t. We’ve been living apart for 2 months now and we’ve gone home apart to see family and come back to where we live to no real progress. Shes finally going to see a therapist tomorrow and says she will make an appointment to see a Dr. for a followup this week. We never fought, argued or had any real problems prior to going through this and I’ve asked her if she ever considered leaving me before going through this and her answer was definitively NO that she loved me with all her heart and could never imagine being without me prior to this. Shes moved in with girls she doesn’t know at all and has been running around partying instead of facing the real issues at hand in her life such as going back to school and wont even talk to me about it without getting angry or upset saying that “we always have hard conversations when we’re together.” I try to make things fun and not discuss them at all with her and have even tried totally cutting off contact with her but she ends up reaching out to me and testing me to see if she can still get my attention. I don’t know what to do since we still sometimes see each other and have sex but when she has an orgasm it really causes her tremendous pain in her stomach and she gets very upset and ill. I know this can happen due to some kind of physical ailment that goes along with the abortion and I only want her to get better and be happy in life. She says she loves me but isn’t in love with me like she used to be. I would love some advice on how to fix our relationship and get her back or just some insight to what someone thinks about what shes going through as a woman. Shes very young 23 years old and normally I would’ve never dated someone so young but I couldnt help falling in love with her after about 6 months of dating even though I tried not too. Shes the greatest woman I’ve ever known and we really were perfect together prior to this happening. The reason for the abortion was that she was violently sick everyday for about a month and a half and had lost over 15 pounds, couldn’t eat or sleep well and spent the whole time on the couch. Now that shes better the love seems to have gone away for her. I guess what I’m asking is since she tells me she needs space and to be alone for a while but isn’t alone at all shes moved in with girls she barely knows and spends all of her time with them not fixing our relationship as shes said time and time again thats what she wants to do. Our attraction toward each other is still there obviously but its definately not the same as it was before for her and I can feel it. Should I give up and move on or should I try to fight for this?
It does sound like she’s having fairly typical post-abortion reactions in regard to troubles with her relationship with you. If you truly love her, it’s hard to imagine giving you any encouragement to move on. It would be great to see you work things out. But realistically, things will never get back to as good as they were, or get better (as can and should happen), until you both work through the post-abortion healing process. I’m not sure if she is ready for it yet, and you may need to give her time to be ready for it, but I strongly encourage you to both participate, together, in a post-abortion healing program. Some programs, like the Rachel’s Vineyard weekends, accommodate couples and can help to both heal the past and build toward the future. Please read our page on healing programs and encourage her to consider doing something with you.
I could have written this. My girlfriend is just partying with her friends and repeatedly going on holiday while telling me that she needs time for herself. She seems completely numb emotionally and doesn’t seem to love me anymore.
We had a great relationship before the abortion too. I feel lost right now. Anyway, I’m interested in how it turned out for the both of you Seth, I know your message is old but you never know.
hi! thanx 4 ur advices and prayers I think God has answered our prayers last night my gf told me her mom called her to say she’s sorry to have put her in pressure for doing abortion…so yeah I am happy and I pray to God to bless us and u also for ur prayers and advices I hope you reach as many people as you can before people make something they will regret 4 the rest of their lives….I am so happy and I hope and for all who have gone through this to find peace in their hearts and know that God answers all prayers and He forgives sins all the time…..BE Blessed and I am blessed Amen!
I’m so happy to hear of her mother’s change of heart. I pray God will continue to pour grace down on all of you to reveal his blessings. You remain in my prayers.
I’ve just turned 20 and had a termination nearly 5 months ago now. Even though I’ve been with my partner for 3 years the timing just wasn’t right. I’m half way through my college degree, my partner was struggling to find work and we were just getting through a really rocky spell in our relationship.
I’d been feeling nauseous for a few days and only took a test to rule out the possibility. I was shocked when the test came back positive since we had always used protection. I think I made the decision to have a termination way too rashly. I was only 19 years old and my partner only 20, I’d booked my flights for the trip of a lifetime, I was going into my last year of college and my partner was trying hard to establish himself in his career. I was worried that we would be bad parents most of all, that my partner especially wasn’t ready to let go of the life he had without a child.
My partner didn’t contribute much to the decision, he only said that he would support me no matter what I chose to do. I was only 8 weeks pregnant when I went to the clinic yet I still felt as though I’d formed some sort of connection with the baby, I noticed it most in quiet moments when I was alone. My partner came with me to the clinic and looked after me very well before and after the procedure. For the first few days I felt relieved, as though my life was getting back to normal and we didn’t discuss what had happened.
However, I began to feel sad and doubtful of the decision a few weeks later. When I spoke to my partner about this he broke down and admitted that he’d seen the baby on the screen at the scan even though I had not. I was so upset for him and upset more so that he’d kept it to himself. I felt as though he must have formed a connection with the baby when he saw it and that in turn made me feel incredibly guilty for going through with the termination.
Five months later I feel as though the full impact of what has happened has finally hit us both. Many of my friends are pregnant and I can’t help feeling bitter and resentful, wondering how things could have been if I had gone through with the pregnancy. All I can think about is wanting a baby now even though our circumstances haven’t changed and wishing away my life so that it would to come to a point where I am in a position to have a child. My partner is still putting on a brave face but I don’t know how to speak to him about it, whenever I try it seems to be a brief conversation and then he’ll change the subject. I feel as though we need to support each other through this – the few friends I’ve told haven’t been as supportive as I’d hoped and he has kept everything pretty much to himself.
I want us to be able to confide in each other but I don’t know how to talk to him.
Dear J,
What you describe is so common. From a strictly rationale perspective, the pregnancy occurred at the “wrong” time and threatened to disrupt so many plans it seemed like an obvious choice. But at a heart level, it changes everything. Once the baby exists, even before it is born, your maternal heart is activated and you are a mother. And for your boyfriend, yes, he too became a father. The only question really is whether you were going to be the mother and father of a living child or one who lost to abortion.
It is also common for many men, like your boyfriend, to swallow their own reservations about the abortion in order to support “the woman’s decision.”
Trying to talk about between the two of you is also hard since we lack the words and it touches on so many issues and may threaten to open up so many feelings that one or both of you don’t feel safe expressing.
The good news is that there are post-abortion healing programs for couples which can walk you through and help you both to heal, and to participate in each other’s healing. This can be good for you both individually and as a couple. I’d strongly recommend that you both consider going to a Rachel’s Vineyard weekend together. Even finding a day to go that is six months from now would give you some hope that you are going to work through this together with the help of people who know how to help you.
While it is clearly an issue you see hanging over your relationship, I am very hopeful that both of you are open enough to looking at this issue, and loving enough to do it together, that given a safe environment and structure program for helping you to work through this, you can and will succeed.
You are in our prayers.
i recently find out that my gf of 3months is 5weeks and 5 dayz pregnant….we are both madly inlove and i am happy and excited about the bby as she is…we both working and am willing to take care of her and the baby and i have made it clear to her i will b happy if she keeps the baby….the day we went to a Dr i was so happy and she told her mother and her mother was so furious and that made devastated as to what to do cause she has to go and study next year 2014….i am a very religious person and am totally against abortion….and her mom wants her to do abortion and it pressurising her .
i have told her what could this do to us in a long run if she do abortion…..the whole thing is stressing her and me.and i know she wants to keep the child as she told me she was so happy she’s going to be a mom soon…..now after telling her mom she wants to do abortion because she feels she has disapointed her parents…..and she has mix feeling and i strongly feel if she goes tru wit it she will regret it and it wil wreck me ,her and our relationship…..i so want this kid but i dont know wat to do or say to make her do rational decision……what can i do to make her to realise that this is a precious thing to hold on to it than to regret later in life?….i have told her that i am not running away from my firstborn for nothing else i wil be there with her every step of the way…Pls help me to convince her to be strong and i have also suggested a distance learning if she wants to study and if the baby is born i will take the bby to my mom while she study and i work….so that she cud hv a good future with both important things in her lyf i.e having a diploma and a child at the same time…PLS HELP this will wreck me i can feel it.
You are right that she is only considering doing this because of the pressure she faces from her parents. I suggest you print out or have her read about the risk factors for severe psychological reactions to abortion (which includes feeling pressured into an abortion), and about the physical and psychological risks associated with abortion. It may also help to read some of the testimonies on our site.
You might also try to get her mother to read this material. She needs to understand that pushing her daughter into this abortion will only end up hurting her daughter and damaging her future. Like so many people, she is mistaken in thinking abortion is a simple procedure which will will just turn back the clock so everything will be exactly as it was before her daughter became pregnant. But that’s a lie. She is already pregnant and so already changed. She is now a mother, too. Abortion won’t change that. It will only turn her into the mother of a dead child rather than a living child. Abortion won’t turn back the clock so her daughter can continue with her education plans undisturbed. The abortion itself, the death of her child, will disrupt her ability to study, learn and grow. Sure, she can go on to get an education, but her life will be forever changed by the abortion. And forcing an abortion may also create a huge wedge in their relationship, too.
You, your girl friend and her mother, and your unborn baby are all in my prayers.
Please let me know if this advise ends up helping you.
Hi,
My girlfriend had an abortion in April after an unplanned pregnancy. She gradually left me over the last 3 months and is throwing away many things in her life. She has alienated herself from people that love her and is a completely different person to the girl I loved. She acts all happy with her new friends who are not particularly good people. Deep down I don’t believe she is ok. Her reasons for leaving me were so sudden and out of character as we had a great relationship. I don’t know if her self destructive nature or any of this is all because of the abortion. She has this ability to compartmentalise everything and is really clever and stubborn that she knows how to distract herself. She never gave me a chance to help her heal and I can not heal without her. I miss her so much and I am so worried about her even though she acts all happy and fine. She is throwing away her entire life and I feel she will regret everything. Does looking at me remind her of what we did? She doesn’t talk to me or many of our mutual friends anymore. I don’t know what to do.
Sam
I feel so sorry for what you and your girlfriend are going through. I think your analysis of the situation is correct. Many women will experience a profound personality change after an abortion which may include distancing from everyone in their past and busying themselves with distractions in order to fool themselves, and others, into looking like they are happy.
The one thing you say that is incorrect is “I can not heal without her.” I know it would be easier to heal if she and you were both working along that path, but since she’s unwilling to do so with you, the BEST thing you can do for both her and yourself is to get help with your own post-abortion healing. I suggest you read our page on tips and call the 24 hours hotline 1-866-482-5433 for abortion recovery to find a referral for a post-abortion program for men.
Your own healing needs to be your #1 priority. On the other side of your healing, by God’s grace, you may have insights and an opportunity to touch her heart again by showing her your healed and loving heart . . . not just your broken heart. The former may inspire her and draw her to desire healing to. Right now, your broken heart just reminds her of the brokenness she is trying to hide and run from.
The only other thing you can and should do, for both yourself and her, is to pray. Pray for an openness to God and God’s mercy and life transforming graces. Even if you’ve never had much room for God in your life, this is the time to make that space and fill it with hope and healing.
My wife and I have been together for over four years and married for over 18 months. Prior to marriage I had always made it clear how much I wanted children and that I wanted them soon after marriage. My wife was well aware and seemed to agree.
After the wedding we discussed timing as she is currently studying and she was keen for it to fit in with her studies so I duly obliged. Around four months ago we agreed the time was right and started trying for a child – she soon fell pregnant. She started suffering from morning sickness and was generally down most of the time. My wife believes it was depression. When the 12 week scan was due, my wife did not want me to attend and to save an argument I agreed. On return from the scan, she broke down and was hysterical saying that she could not go ahead with it. As much as it killed me, I agreed to talk about the reasons why she felt like she did. In the end, I decided that it would be wrong for me to force her to keep the child as I could see the psychological effect it was having on her, but I made it very clear that I did not support the decision and made it clear it could very well break us up – but I would try my utmost to keep the marriage alive afterwards if she went ahead with abortion.
After further discussions and visits to the hospital, she decided to go ahead with the termination. I provided her with as much support as I could as I felt it was my duty of being a husband, despite it breaking my heart. I am a very thick skinned person but this has broken me to pieces – it is the first time my wife has seen me cry and I know this hurt her a lot seeing me like this.
I must point out that I have wanted children for a very long time and my family and I are against abortion for religious reasons, too. Due to this, there is no way that I can tell any of my family about this situation as it would make my relationship nearly impossible. We had to pretend it was a miscarriage and lying to my parents has not been easy at all. I have consoled in only a few people that I trust and that has helped. It has been around 5 weeks since the termination and I do not know what to do. I have not slept with my wife since which is a very long time for us. I feel resentful towards her from time to time and when we argue about things I often say that I am leaving. She tells me that she does want children but she thinks she needs help – she had a very difficult upbringing with her mother being a single parent and very little money – I understand this probably has had a negative effect. However, I am finding it difficult to believe that she will want children as soon as I want them considering the extreme measure she has just been through. Due to this, I do not know what to do! I love her and respect her so much and I think she is an amazing person, but I understand that breaking up may be the best for both of us.
I strongly encourage you to both attend a Rachel’s Vineyard Post-Abortion Healing weekend retreat in the UK. If that isn’t possible, at least seek some post-abortion healing programs for yourself.
Healing will help you to find if and how you can save your marriage.
What I am particularly struck by is why your wife “suddenly” became adamant against carrying the baby to term. I suspect there are psychological issues she is facing which make her fearful of being a mother that she may not have shared with you . . . and may even not be fully aware of herself. For example, is she had a prior history of abortion or being sexually abused as a child (and forced to abort) which has been so totally repressed she doesn’t even remember it, this could make being pregnant tremendously stressful, and the abortion could even be a re-enactment of her earlier loss. It could be something much less dramatic, and if it exists, is probably likely to be less dramatic. But so often in marriages the crisis of the day (the outward, obvious issues) are really just standing in for deeper issues that one or both of the spouses can’t fully see or discuss.
You need marriage counseling. And she may need individual counseling as well to better understand why this pregnancy filled her with such fear, panic, and depression.
It’s great that you are trying to stand beside her. But that doesn’t mean you should let her continue to hide from issues that are central to her own well being and her ability to be in a committed marriage that is open to the blessing of children. I strongly encourage you to use whatever influence you have to encourage her to get counseling, including marriage counseling for the both of you, and to both also get help from someone trained in post-abortion counseling. The post-abortion counseling itself may not be enough to prevent her from being afraid of having a baby in the future, but it has to be dealt with too, otherwise it will continue to be a poison in your relationship.
Thanks a lot,i have not contacted any pregnancy centre,well im in Botswana.I really need help this guy is tormenting me with text messages telling me how do i want to make him the father of my child while he doesn’t want the baby,he says he doesn’t want an association with me i should get rid of this thing so that we never meet again,he doesn’t want to have a child with me,he doesn’t understand why i want to keep a part of him when he doesn’t want the baby.And that he is going to get some legal advice regarding this matter or i should go with him to the lawyers and write that i will be alone on this and i wont bother him,which i refused to do,he says im selfish and he has been through a baby outside marriage and he doesn’t want to go through that route again,he doesn’t want to be stuck to me because of this baby that i want to keep,im putting him through a situation that he doesn’t want which is why he says im selfish.He told me that after breaking up with the mother of his child,he took the child because he wanted the baby but this one i have with him,he doesn’t want it because he didn’t plan for the baby.He told me again that after breaking up with this lady that’s the mother of his child he met another lady and he impregnated her,and he told the lady to abort and the lady agreed but i think im too special or too clever to think that keeping the baby will bond us.This guy is just hurting me a lot and i have sleepless nights and my sister even encouraged me to go and abort so that this guy will leave me alone,but i told my sister that im not going to empower the devil,only God’s will shall come to pass.Another problem is that this guy is a student where i work,well i work in a college and he came to top up his studies,he is 39 a teacher by profession and im 31,i assist students every day and every time he comes into my office i develop a terrible headache,or even when i say hi to him he will just keep quiet,or even when i see him around campus,it doesnt go well with me.please help me on how i can deal with this
You are doing the right thing. Don’t let him try to talk you into giving up your rights, and the rights of your child, to financial support. This is his child, too. Someday, he may come to regret that he ever pushed for the abortion because he will love his child as a man should. But for now, he sees it just as a “pregnancy” and a future obligation that he doesn’t want. He doesn’t yet know and feel in his heart that this is his son or daughter, a precious child! Ignore his ignorant selfish demands.
Do not give into his demands. Go tell the police that he is harassing you and ask them to talk to him and warn him to back off. They may also be able to help you ask a judge for a restraining order, or some equivalent, which will subject him to the risk of fines or a few days in prison if he contacts you you or approaches you without your permission. Since you work at the same school, you may also consider going to the top people in your school and ask them to put him on notice that this has to stop . . . forbidding him from coming to your office. I suggest both of these options. He needs to be put on notice that other people are now aware of his harassment and that you are prepared to see him “punished” if he doesn’t leave you alone. There is no reason you should have to suffer this mental anguish just because he refuses to respect you and your child. He’s the one 100% at fault. He should be praising, encouraging, and supporting you . . . not doing all of the opposite.
He may not have wanted this baby, but he did want the sex which led to this baby. Now is the time for him to learn that he can’t just go around impregnating women and expecting them to have abortions so he can save money to afford to go around and impregnate more women.
You’re doing the right thing, protecting the life of your child. He can either grow up and become a man who accepts responsibility for his children, or he can whine in the corner about how unfair you are not to do everything he wants. But that doesn’t mean you need to listen to his whining, much less put up with his harassment. Whining, begging, and threatening are never manly, or sexy. He needs to grow up. And if he can’t do that, he at least must learn to leave you alone . . . even if it takes his supervisors and the police to explain this to him.
I have been dating this guy for about 6months and i fall pregnant ,i told him that im pregnant but he told me he is not ready for a child,because he doesnt want to have another child outside marriage,since he has another child with with ex girlfriend and i dont have a child.He told me if i dont abort the baby it will be the end of our relationship,i refused to abort the baby and the guy dissappeard,and before he dissappeard he started sending text messages on my mobile phone that he wish i die while delivering the baby and just something bad happens to me,this realy stressed me and i just told myself that i will be strong and i wont do an abortion,im now going through this pregnancy alone,its tough but im pulling through.
Stay strong Engela. Don’t let his harassment wear you down. Have you contacted an pregnancy help center–one that doesn’t refer for abortions but instead offers friendship, supplies, and other forms of help? If you are in the United States, there are many of these help centers and I am sure there is one close to you. If you are elsewhere, we may still be able to help you find one. Let us know if we can be of help in that regard. You and your baby are in our prayers.
Hello, my fiancee had an abortion last month. Before finding out she was pregnant we always had fun together, seeing her was the best part of my days. Shes currently in school finishing up her bachelors and in a year long program where they offer you a job for the best project. These things take the majority of her days yet she will always find time to talk to me and see me. When she found out she was pregnant she told me she didnt want to have the baby because she was afraid of the baby blocking her from getting her bachelors, but deep down i knew she wanted it. I told her i would love to have the baby but i wouldnt want it getting in the way of accomplishing her dreams. After this abortion she hardly talks to me, responds in one word responses and doesnt want to see me nor want me to pick her up from work. Are mood swings usually like this? Is my relationship with her on the rocks? I love her more than anything in this world but i feel helpless, i feel like im not needed anymore and im the last person she wants to see or talk to. I try to tell her whats wrong or lets talk things out but i hardly see her now and plans usually change when she does get time to see me. She usually blames the classes or the program for her being stressed out but i know its the abortion stressing her out. All i am trying to do is be a good fiance and support her at all costs, but under these circumstances….how can i if she wont let me?
Hi CL,
You’re in a tough spot. She is too, of course. You are right that her distancing behavior is related to you being so close to the underlying issues she doesn’t want to address . . . the abortion of yours and her child.
Try to be patient with her and continue to show her all the love you can, expecting that her distancing behavior will continue, at least for at time. Remember that this doesn’t necessarily mean she is rejecting you so much as struggling with her own feelings.
I’d suggest you do some homework and read Forbidden Grief for a better understanding of the issues women and couples face and how they work through them. If you think it appropriate, ask her to read it, too. Offer to attend a post-abortion healing program with her. If she’s not interested, you may benefit from going through a post-abortion program for yourself. Perhaps seeing you work through these issues for your own sake will inspire her to do the same. You might also benefit by reading some of our other articles on men and abortion.
How I wish there was an easy answer. But we both know it won’t be easy. Obviously, you can’t force her to love you, or to accept your love, or to even deal with any of these issues when it may be her primary instinct to “forget everything” even if it means forgetting you, too.
I can’t guarantee that your love can hold your relationship together, much less repair all the hurts she and you have experienced. But I can encourage you to hang in there and be loving, be patient, be kind . . . and be prayerful that God will give you both the graces you need to work through this.
You are both in our prayers.
Hi, I just found out that my girlfriend of 18 months is pregnant. We both were not expecting to have a baby. I’m divorce and a father of 2. She 32 years old never been married or any kids. She is a pre school teacher so she good with kids and she just finish her masters recently. Her plans is to get married first buy a house first and then have kids. Which I completely understand but under these conditions she wants to have an abortion. I honestly don’t know how to act weather I should be glad because I’ve already have 2 kids of my own at financially I’m not ready for another baby but at the same time I would love to have a child with her. She already made the appointment for the abortion. What should I do? I tried talking to her but she does not take my side to consideration. She says that she not ready, and she does not want to have a baby without being married or have a house.
I would suggest that you review, and ask her to review, the risk factors for women who are more likely to experience more severe negative emotional reactions to abortion. A list of those identified by the American Psychological Association is here. For an even more complete list, see this article.
At this point, her decision is driven by rationale, practical considerations that reflect an effort to fit her life to a predefined dream of what it should be like . . . including being married, living in a home, and ready for a child. But the bottom line is that she is a woman who loves children, has a maternal nature, and wants to have children of her own. This means her emotional needs and attachments are at odds with what is practical and “makes sense.” This is a HUGE risk factor for her later having severe emotional reactions associated with an abortion. She may cope fine for many years, but someday when she does have her wanted, planned baby, what she has lost in this abortion is likely to come crashing back down on her. Encourage her to read some of the testimonies of women who made a “practical” decision to abort, which made perfect sense from that perspective, but then discovered that this led to a haunting grief that they would do anything to undo.
In short, I’m suggesting that you try talking to her not about your needs (which she is already discounting) or even about the baby, but rather about your deep concern that a decision that neglects all the factors that indicate that she is likely to have negative emotional reactions, especially in the long term, will hurt her. Show her you are scared for her. Try to convince her that you being here for her, and your willingness to marry and provide for her and your children, makes all the difference. This unexpected child is just an unexpected path to happiness. An abortion not only destroys this child and the happiness he or she can bring into your lives, it will plant deep seeds of regret, grief, and obstacles in future parenting and future relationships.
You are all in our prayers.
I had an abortion january 2012, i was about to turn 21 and had a long term but unstable relationship with my high school boyfriend. When i told him i was pregnant there was no hesitating on my part to get an abortion. I was afraid and it was an instinct on my part. I told him my decision and he agreed told me “it was the only thing to do”. After it was done he told me he could never look at me the same way, that he couldn’t believe i had done that (referring to the getting pregnant) and that i was not to contact him. Shortly I found out he was casually seeing a girl, and had gotten her pregnant only 2 months after my abortion. They now live together.
I feel hurt and humiliated and alone. I have felt this way ever since I chose to end my pregnancy. Some days i wake up feeling like a murderer, hating myself and not believing i could have done that. Other days i wake up feeling that i did the right thing for the baby and i.
I went through this process alone, my family and close friends don’t know, and wonder why it has been hard for me to let go of my ex. I feel that there is something that bounds us together, i believe he does not feel the loss i feel. He didn’t live the process therefore it is not his reality, and i resent him for that, for letting me go through it alone, for making me watch him raise a baby with a stranger ¡, for not loving my baby, for not caring, for having a baby to hold.
Dear Sally,
It’s been over a year and a half since your abortion. The strong feelings you continue to have are a sign that you would likely benefit from participation in a post-abortion healing program. Please read our tips and look at the list of resources for finding a program that is right for you.
You are right that your ex does not have the same post-abortion experience you do. But it is likely that it does affect him too, but in different ways . . . including through his being with his other child by the other woman. That baby is a reminder of the baby he lost with you, and it is likely he is facing some issues with trying to both enjoy his other child and to grieve the one he lost. It’s not an easy balance, and he may be deep in denial and other coping mechanisms.
All you can do is try to address your own needs for healing. Please call one or more of the post-abortion healing groups listed on our resources page.
2 days from now would be a week since mine.
I’ve been dating a wonderful man with 2 kids of his own out of wedlock from the same mother & also a grandfather from his 17 yr old girl. Everytime this happened to him was the “wrong” time & so was this. We’ve wanted this but the right way, in a marriage & even though it was clear enough, closer to the date of the medical abortion… I questioned, if it was wrong timings back then why should this be any different? Battling with these thoughts & running out of time, I gave in. He was with me every step of the way… Cried whenever I did… Held in close all thru the pain & the nights of restlessness. I returned to my apartment as to give him space to spend time with his son who was visiting & had no idea what was going on. Now while I’m alone & dealing with grief & still trying to reason everything & don’t have him thru this battling process till his son leaves…. I’m debating our relationship. He’s promised to be there al the way and has been there till today & I know if we get thru this, we will have our lives back to the way we wanted this…. But part of me just wants to walk away now & not give this a chance.
One thing I can tell you with confidence . . . your lives will not go back to they way they were. This is too big of a experience to not forever change both of you. In most cases, it leads to a break up. In some cases, it leads to couples staying together despite unresolved hurts, grief, and blame toward each other or themselves, simply because they paid such a high price to be with each other they feel obligated to stick it out. In other cases, when couples work through the grief and healing process together, this shared loss and experience can lead to deeper levels of understanding and love for each other. It’s not easy. But it is worth working towards. I strongly suggest that you consider attending a Rachel’s Vineyard weekend retreat together, as a couple. It may take some time before you are ready, but talking to a post-abortion healing counselor may give you some guidance as to when it would be best for you to pursue this option.
Im simon koh from singapore. I got my mistress pregnant. She become very moody in her pregnancy even after abortion she became worst. She got abortion april 2 dis year until now she havent got period yet. She always angry at me,accusing me, threathning me she also blackmailing me and She dont want to have sex with me anymore.
I don’t know if there are any post-abortion healing programs available to you in Singapore but she clearly needs help. If she can read English, or if you can find a web application to translate our pages, you may both benefit from reading some of our resources.
The emotional pain she is suffering from the abortion is the same as grief associated with the death of a loved one . . . even worse because she sees both herself and you as responsible for the death. This is deep, hurtful stuff that manifests itself in anger and an inability to desire or accept sex which is exactly what led to the pregnancy in the first place.
There are no fast, easy solutions, but there are a few basic, necessary steps if there is going to be any hope for the two of you. First, stop pressing for sex. Until she and you both heal the wounds caused by the abortion, sex will not be mutually satisfying. Second, apologize to her for your part in the abortion. Third, share with her your grief over the loss of the baby and what it has done to your relationship. Fourth, work with her to find a post-abortion healing program that can help you both. You may be able to find a program through a Christian or Catholic church, many of which have connections to post-abortion healing and pregnancy help centers.
Thank you for replying back to me. I think I feel okay or fine and feel like just crying occasionally wouldn’t kill me. But I don’t know how to tell him anything because I feel like the moment I started the arguments the chances of us talking is so slim. I don’t know why I feel like I want him back in my life maybe because I feel like I have a void in my life. I also caused drama at this house and still thinking about oh so that is the reason why you don’t want to be with me anymore. I also got so mad at him was like you don’t want me anymore because I have nothing to offer to you. But there I am stuck thinking if I should tell my parents and his parents because we both screwed up. I know that I’m really trying too hard to make things work. But I have thought about the out comes a million times I don’t want to feel like I’m doing something humiliating myself to myself when I already did the moment I stepped in front of his house. I still haven’t told my parents or anybody in my family but five of my close friends they all don’t know how I exactly feel. But one of my friend told me he knows and he told me that I really need to go fine help and do some kind of healing. I don’t feel anything but before I told him about why I constantly want to cling on to my ex-boyfriend. He told me sister you really need to heal and I’m really happy that you were in an equal relationship where you both get even with each other. I don’t know how to make the choice anymore do you think it would help me if I tell my family and his family what I have done so I don’t feel this guilt anymore. I feel so guilty because I’m hiding this from a lot of people that cares about me and they are not just random people but family. Can you help me make a better choice because I do am really stubborn and I do really miss him. I felt like I really loved him. I don’t know how to explain it because we been friends for a decade now and I don’t think he needs to cop because he forgets things like over night. Don’t remember any of the words he once told me that I’m still cling on and thinking that those aren’t empty words they are reals words and he meant them. I tried so many times but I’m always kicked to the curve. After the abortion I felt like he changed and I changed to I felt now see that I started to developing the bitterness that he told me about. He told me that he moves on fast and really fast and told me about his grandma and he said a lot about her and told me how cool she is but after she died maybe he missed her for a month or felt said for a month but he told me who is grandma after that month of sadness. So I’m hoping you can give me some idea of what I should do since everybody has a different experience.
Hi Mindy,
I strongly encourage you, once again, to find a post-abortion counselor for yourself. You really do need to deal with your own hurts, including his rejection, with a trained post-abortion counselor. Whether or not your relationship can eventually be saved . . . I don’t know. But I do know that trying to beg or push him into working to save it won’t work. Even he is telling you the same thing, through your friend, who told you he wants you to find help and get some kind of healing.
The simple fact is that if he cares for you at all, and I’m sure he does . . . at least some, if not enough for rebuilding a relationship . . . he wants you to recover from your loss and grief, over both him and the abortion. But most importantly, he doesn’t know how to help you. He lacks the wisdom, in sight, and words. And seeing you in distress, needing comfort, needing love, just reminds him how powerless he is to help you (and even himself) because he has his own interior wounds, fears, and hangups. He can’t give you what a trained counselor needs. And even if he was filled with love for you and wanted to express that love for you . . . it still wouldn’t fix things because there is still this abortion loss that you both share that he can’t fix in you or himself.
Regarding your family, maybe it would be good to talk to a parent of family member who can support you and also help encourage you and help you find a post-abortion counselor. Don’t expect a lot of insight and help. At best, you will get loving empathy. But most people, especially our own family members, feel unprepared . . . and are unprepared to give good advice and support through something like this. Again this is something you can discuss with a counselor . . . but I’d still advise talking to a counselor first, especially if there is any chance that your parents, for example, may not be as supportive as you hope, in which case, you may feel even worse after talking to them which is why you should then already be in contact with your post-abortion counselor.
I would not recommend going to his family to tell them about the abortion. That may only make him feel betrayed and will put them into an awkward situation and will probably make you feel worse rather than better. Let that side of the relationship rest for now. Do your own healing. Only then will you even begin to have the wisdom to know if and when you should talk further with him and/or his family about this loss.
You are in our prayers.
Can anybody tell me how I can have my ex-boyfriend back after the fact that he doesn’t love me anymore and walled me off after we went through an abortion together it makes me really said and guilty and the crying comes and go.
I don’t think you and your ex-boyfriend will be able to repair your relationship until you both address the emotional scars the abortion had on each of you. I strongly recommend that you seek post-abortion counseling for yourself. You might suggest it to him, also, and might even suggest going to a program together. But if he’s not interested, you still need to do it for yourself. Going through your own healing will also help you to understand why it is hard for him to be with you and to better understand how he may be having trouble coping with the abortion . . . which is often expressed by being withdrawn from the you.
Thank you so much, this is literlly the most support I’ve gotten so far, it means the absolute world. I’m gonna find a support programme which I’ll attend by myself, as he doesn’t want to, which I knew would be the case anyway. Thank you for the support!
I’m 17 years old and yesterday I went into hospital for the second part of my abortion. It was the worst day of my life. Two weeks after me nd my ex broke up, Ifound out I was pregnant and I knew exactly what he was gonna say, as he always went on about how girls who get pregnant and keep babies at this age are vile and stupid and I always disagreed, as my sister had my nephew when she was 18. He rang me and was really angry at me for considering keeping the baby. He kept rushing me to make a decision and because I needed more time than 2 days to make adecision, he broke all contact with me. I was for sure going to keep it until I heard people in my own house talking about me behind my back. I spoketo a few friends who have had children and they said it was best to terminate. My ex then got back inro contact with me and decided to make up a bunch of lies saying I had tricked him and told him I was on the pill when infact he knew all along I wasnt on contraception. He pressured and pressured me every single second of everyday sayong that he wanted to committ suicide and I was ruining everyones lives around me, so I gave in and booked an abortion. Everyone was suddenly proud of me for making the ‘righr decision’ except for me. I took the first pill onwednesday by myself in the hospital and guilt oozed out of me as I walked out with my head in my hands. But yesterday when I went for the second part, my ex and my best friend came with me where we spent 7 hours in the hospital. At 1:30pm I saw my baby come out of me. He/she just led there lifeless infront of me. I stared for about 5 minutesas I noticed that he or she had arms, fingers, a head and pupils. I had no dea that it would blook so human and have formed so much. The world closed in on me and I stared in amazment in tears and realised what I had done. Before the abortion appointment my ex was being really supportive depsite my horrific mood swings, but when it was all over he just went blank, he won’t make 5 minutes tto talk to me or support me and it doesn’t seem like he cares that our child is just gone and we will neer get him or her bavk. He says I’m attention seeking when I say I need support and doesn’t seem to understand that this is really painful for me even if it isn’t affecting him.for some sick Reason. I hate myself for killing my baby and iwill never forgive myself for letting people pressure me. I will never forget my little angel, I’ll love you forever and I’m sososo sorry. How dobi get my ex to understand that I need his support? No one understands the pain.
Dear Tasha,
Our hearts and prayers go out to you through all that you are suffering.
I understand the guilt and shame you feel for giving into all the pressure from your ex and family, and even the friends who reassured you that abortion was the “right choice.”
I strongly encourage you to seek support not from your boyfriend but rather from women at a post-abortion healing ministry who have been where you are. Please read our page on finding a post-abortion healing ministry and find someone you can talk with. It may take a some time to get past the immediacy of your trauma, but at the right time you should then participate in a healing program . . . and stick with it. Until then, at least talk to someone there and know that you can call her anytime you need some support and understanding.
Regarding your last question, how do you get your ex to understand that you need his support? You can’t. Especially right now. He’s built up defensive walls around this whole abortion issue. Long before you even became pregnant, he had steeled himself to ignore the baby and the feelings of any girl he got pregnant because “getting rid of it” was the “practical” thing to do because it would get him off the hook for any responsibility to the baby or you (or any other girl). That’s why he pushed so hard and was manipulative.
If he saw your aborted baby with you, he’s traumatized, too, which is putting him into even a higher level of denial. Even if he didn’t see it, and he has just heard you talk about it and is seeing your grief . . . that provokes denial, too. He doesn’t want to . . . and maybe can’t handle . . . the realization that his selfish demands and manipulations have done this much damage to you . . . much less if he too saw that the baby was truly a baby, his baby, your baby, and that both of you saw how his demands had led to this tragedy.
I’m not making excuses for his decisions. But I am offering the “excuse” that most people can’t psychologically handle what he and you have been through without either breaking down or building up huge defense mechanisms. For you, it’s breaking down into tears and grief. He’s deathly afraid of giving into grief because that would require also admitting his guilt in pushing for the abortion . . . and more. So he’s distancing himself from you, and is very likely to bury himself in other activities, or drinking, or carousing, or anything else to get away from what he doesn’t want to think about.
One day, all of his defense mechanisms will collapse. Then he will grieve and feel guilty. Maybe, but not usually, he may even come back to tell you how sorry he has become. Pray for him. Pray that someday he will have the strength, the courage, and the humility to face the truth and find the healing which you are now seeking. But don’t expect it to come easily for him. And don’t expect him to be of any help to you anytime in the near future. His process is most likely going to go through a long stage of denial, and anything you try to do or say will just push him further into denial. Don’t look to him for much in the way of empathy and support. And most certainly, don’t get involved with him any further . . . especially sexually. Don’t let your grief become something more he can prey upon in some twisted way of “making up” to you through more sex . . . which can just lead to another pregnancy and more pressure to abort, which sadly happens all too often.
You need to look after yourself now. And I strongly encourage you to get help and understanding from women who have been in your shoes and have been through post-abortion healing and are experienced at helping people like you on the path to healing.
I know you feel like you will never forgive yourself. And it is certainly true you will never forget nor stop loving the child you lost. But with support and love, you can use this experience to grow into a wiser, more loving, more mature woman who will be able to forgive the younger version of herself who just lacked the wisdom and strength to resist all those pressures, just as God is willing to forgive you.
Don’t lose hope. Grief is natural and, with help, leads to growth and healing. Let others help you. But at the same time, don’t look for that help from an ex-boyfriend who is deep in his own denial, trauma, selfishness, et cetera. At this stage, all he can do is either drag you down or further exploit you because he really doesn’t know how to do better. I feel both angry at him and sorry for him at the same time. But you can’t fix him. And it is almost certainly best for you, and him, to not have anything to do with him . . . except in the unlikely circumstance that he wants to participate in post-abortion healing program with you — even then, only assuming your counselor agrees it would be a good idea.
You’re in our prayers, Tasha. I know it’s hard. But don’t give up hope. And do reach out to as many post-abortion healing resources as you may need.
Hi it’s an anonymous girl I have a problem I was a young when I had
My abortion family told me not do occasionally I would B thrown out my home pregnant in the cold….. I wanted the baby I prayed every night and told myself never to let it go but my bf had t spoke in months I thought he abandoned me and I felt played I. Went to his house and thought he gave me the wrong address it was like love at first sight tho we were so happy until he called me out the blue and told me he would call the cops on me because he was 16 so I yahoo d it and asked people was it normal me being 20 n all everyone said I was going to jail just everybody was pointing. Me in 3 different dire toons now be wants go work out the relationship what should I do???
If you are still pregnant, please contact a pregnancy help center.
If you had an abortion, please read our tips and suggestions on finding help after an abortion.
Even though he doesn’t want to see you, that doesn’t mean you should have an abortion. Nor does it necessarily mean you would be in any legal trouble if he accused you of being too old to have sex with him, especially if he misled you about his age. You would need to talk to a lawyer, but I find it hard to believe that any judge or jury would punish you with jail time, nor would it effect his obligation to eventually pay child support. Underage laws are not often enforced, especially with a 16 year-old. In fact, I doubt that the four year difference in your ages constitute underage sex in any state . . . especially since he is over 15.
If your asking if you should take him back after he wanted you to have an abortion, I would discourage it. If a guy doesn’t want a woman in his life when she’s pregnant, than he doesn’t really want her in his life in any permanent way. He just wants easy sex with a woman he is ready to reject as soon as “something better” becomes available. Your better off without him. Save yourself for a man who is totally and fully committed to you . . . for life.
im a few weeks pregnant and when my boyfriend found out, he said right away that he doesnt want the baby. he told me that he’s not yet ready especially that neither one of our families know about our relationship yet.
i feel sad because after this he already kept his distance and told me already that he doesnt know if we’ll still be together soon.
i feel devastated because i feel that im not only losing our baby but i’ll lose my bf too.
What you are going through is very common. The lack of support and feeling you may lose your boyfriend is heartbreaking. All I can tell you is that literally millions of women who have been in the same boat and chosen abortion because of it would give anything to have made a different decision.
Don’t let your fear of losing him, or even your fear of being a single parent, lead you into a decision you will forever regret and blame yourself for.
Please check out the pregnancy resource centers that can help you through this crisis.
Ironically, if this is a guy worth having in your life, having your baby, despite his objections, may change his heart. If not, your better off without him anyway. But you won’t be better off without your child. It may be hard to see now, but your child will be a blessing to both of you. Virtually no one ever regrets having had their children, even when they were unplanned or “unwanted.” But regrets over an abortion are common, long lasting, and can never be fully repaired.
Be strong. Be confident. Stand up for yourself and your baby. You will find friends and resources to help you through pregnancy help centers near you.
Oh, a couple more things. Before you talk yourself into having an abortion, much less let anyone else convince you to do so, Please see “Identifying High Risk Abortion Patients” or “Abortion decisions and the duty to screen: clinical, ethical, and legal implications of predictive risk factors of post-abortion maladjustment“ for a more complete list of risk factors, including citations to the studies identifying each risk factor. You should also read our page summarizing studies related to the psychological and physical risks of abortion.
Hello I got pregnant to a guy who I was seeing then became friends with benefits as he was a massive player for 8 months I fell hard for him and his games I was caught up in a love triangle with him and his ex girlfriend who he swore he hated just when i gave up and decided to be just friends I found out I was 4 weeks pregnant start of feb to him and at first I wanted to Keep it but he wanted an abortion so I decided it was best for the unborn child to abort as he would be in and out of childs life and i have no family close by and could effort to look after my self he was so supportive for first week calling every day and staying with me every night then 2 nights before the abortion he told he this baby has made him realize he loves and wants to be with the ex And i was being selfish abd never asked him how he felt and was sick of me crying as deep down i wanted this child so night before the abortion he told me we could no longer be friends as he has a right to be happy even if it meant being selfish and he took me to the clinic had the abortion then left me to recover by myself at my home with no support from him I’ve tried to teach out only for him to say I’m done with you and to let him be not only am I feeling so much guilt and regret I lost a friend I thought that cared for me who told me I’m being dramatic and to get over the abortion
Jade, I’m very sorry to hear what you have been through. Please don’t just bury your hurt. Doing so will hurt you and will also set you up for being hurt the same way again in the future. Please call one of the post-abortion help lines listed here. You need to find a good adviser and friend who has been through a situation like yours and is also trained in post-abortion counseling.
You are in our prayers.
I have been goin out with this girl for the past 7 months until she became pregnant, I wanted the baby cos its my first child but the family of the girl has a bigger say in her life, they give her advice which the girl always put to practice, at a time, the family of the girl said I must marry her and she is going to live with me, I told the family that they should give me more little time to fix my apartment in order and get some stuffs together before we start living together. The girl put alot of pressure in my head, all of a sudden she started worrying me that she does not want to feel sick again, she does not want to vommit again, that she want to be free like before. I knew where she was going, she said that she does not want the child anymore. I said ok that I will respect ur decision,her family, friends have all given her some bad ideas which I alone cannot personally change her mind. They want me to marry her immediately, I agree to be responsible for the child support if she had the baby but untill the very day, she went to a doctor for appointment, she called me and the doctor asked us to return again. The doctor asked us to pay 250 dollars- which I had 200usd in my pocket, I told the girl that I dont have more with me, if she can assist up. The elder sister of the girl promised to help with 50usd. She had the abortion, the mum was pretending not to be aware of what happened. I lost my child of 2 months. Please can someone be kind and reply back to me tru my email – obidikeao at yahoo dot com. I need somebody to console my grief, my pains, am a catholic, I live in Latin America, far away from my parents. Please God forgive me my sins, make me new. I want to find happiness in my life again- Please am hopin to hear from you all.
Your comment and email address have been posted. Perhaps there is someone who can give you regular advice.
I’d also encourage you to read the articles on men and abortion here. You should also seek out a post-abortion counselor in your country. As a Catholic, you should also go to confession and ask the priest if there are any post-abortion programs that can help you process your grief. God will forgive. But being forgiven is not the same as working through the healing process. It’s an important step, of course! But it would really help you to be able to talk with a post-abortion counselor and to work through the issues you face.
I experienced an abortion 6 months ago. I’ve been with my boyfriend for a little over a year now. I did not want to end the pregnancy, but my boyfriend did. So after constantly arguing I made the decision to end it, partly because my boyfriend was worried about financial resources and partly because my mom said I needed to “do what’s best”. Now I find it very difficult to interact normally with my boyfriend and mom. My boyfriend doesn’t show any emotions. He says that he has to be strong because it’ll make it harder for me if he shows his hurt too. I feel like he doesn’t care. I am still grieving and it’s still very hard for me. I am worried that our relationship is going to really suffer. Sometimes I can hardly stand to look at him because of the resentment I feel, and sometimes I can’t help but to think about our baby when I see my boyfriend. I really want to keep our relationship, but I’m not sure how to heal from this and also help my boyfriend heal. Any suggestions?
With our without your boyfriend, you should read our page on finding a post-abortion healing program and find one that is right for you. You need to do this for yourself, first. You also need to do it if the relationship has any chance to survive. Hopefully, he’ll participate, too.
His explanation that he is trying to stay strong and not show his hurt may be true. On the other hand, while he thinks its best, experience shows it is not. If the two of you are going to heal, he’ll have to open himself up to both his loss and yours so you can grieve together. He needs to understand that just as it would be rude and hurtful for him to stay “strong and distant” if your entire family was killed in an airplane crash, it is just as rude and hurtful for him to ignore the hurt you are feeling after your abortion.
It’s likely that in part he’s using the “I need to just be strong for you and not add to your grief by showing mine” philosophy as an unconscious excuse to avoid opening up his heart to the pain that he knows is there if he looks at it too close. In that way, he can pretend that he’s being strong for you when really he’s mostly afraid of confronting and opening up to his own pain.
You are in our prayers. Please call a post-abortion healing ministry today.
Me and my girlfriend have known each other since elementary school but it was almost a decade before we were reunited as a couple. We are both college graduates. I’m 27 and shes 26. I have a steady job but not in my ideal career path. Shes unemployed right now. We considered moving. She was in a very serious relationship about a year ago. We’ve been together about 5 months. I am in love with her. Supposedly she loves me too but after finding out shes pregnant she is seeking an abortion. Shes adamant about it because of emotional duress she anticipates (she thinks having a baby will make her depressed) and financial worries due to her not working. Also she wants to continue on to grad school I think. I am kind of at a loss. I told her I was against it, I am ready to be a father. Out of love I am going to support her decision but biting my tongue all the way. Plus she asked me to help pay for it. I feel numb to all of this at this point and I think NOT having the baby will destroy us. I already feel regardless of how stressed out and depressed she feels now, it will only be worse. Since she was clinically depressed she was taking meds for it up until finding out about the pregnancy. I know this is a factor, but I still think everything will be ok… it may, it may not but I’m willing to deal with it. My mom is for the birth. Her mom is too. I feel rejected, confused, angry, sterile… like a sperm donor that is about to be cast out. Is it possible someone can love me and do this to our unborn child…?
Hi Guy,
To answer your last question, yes, it is possible for her to love you and still be so afraid of having your baby that she would have an abortion.
You are also right, however, that your relationship has the best chance of surviving in the future if she changes her mind and has the child. Having an abortion will almost surely doom your relationship.
You are also right that if she does have an abortion, it is far more likely to make her depression worse, not better. In the long run, having a child is more likely to help reduce the recurrence of depression. Abortion is more likely to make it worse. As you will also see on our web site, abortion is also more likely to lead to suicidal behaviors, especially for women with risk factors for more severe psychological problems associated with abortion…which are in abundance in her case.
You are right to try to show love to her even if she refuses to cancel the abortion. You shouldn’t use withholding love as a threat. On the other hand, it is quite fair to express your concern that your relationship won’t survive the abortion, and the grief it will cause you (and her, even if she doesn’t realize it yet) may not make it possible for you to build a healthy relationship.
Regarding her request that you help pay for the abortion, your moral obligation is clear. You should not. Nor should you even take her to the abortion clinic. You should do nothing to help contribute to an act which you believe to be the killing of your own child. Such an act of culpability will only make you feel worse. And, withholding this support, may finally get through to her how strongly and deeply your are committed to protecting your child, not killing it.
The only “support” you should promise is that even if she goes through with it, you will try to love her and try to forgive her and try to understand that she is acting out of fear and confusion. In other words, you will try to hang onto an attitude of love, not hate. But if she does go through with it, she needs to know that she is not only destroying your child, but ripping out your heart. Out of love, if all you can do is to let her rip out your heart, you will endure it as best you can. But it is foolish and unkind of her to ask you to smile and help pay for this offense against both you and your child.
Try to convey to her that you don’t want the abortion not only because of what it will do to your child, but also because you fear what it will do to her both psychologically and physically–including increased risk to future wanted pregnancies. The risks are far greater than abortion providers admit. Ask her to pray with you about it. Ask her to trust you and trust that God has a plan. Almost no one ever regrets having their child . . . even an untimely one. Almost half of all delivered pregnancies were unplanned. But people adjust and are so happy for these unexpected blessings. By contrast, many women and men deeply regret their abortions for the rest of their lives.
Ask her to at least go see a pregnancy help center counselor with you. There she can talk to someone who has had an abortion and get some encouragement from a trained counselor to see how things can work out for the best.
Finally, remember that what she is most struggling with now is fear. She’s afraid of change. She is afraid of losing something, or many things, if she accepts this baby into her life. This fear may be so intense it creates feelings of despair, and having an abortion appears to be a way of taking control and preventing this loss. The big lie is that having an abortion substitutes a different loss into her life, and new feelings of despair and helplessness. If she has the child, the unknowns resolve themselves and you guys will find a way to reorder your lives with room for your child (and future children) into your lives. Having an abortion creates issues of loss and despair that are not so easily resolved. So in short, anything you can do to offset her feelings of fear and despair by your example of courage, strength, confidence, and steadfastness (in refusing to do what you know is wrong, like paying for an abortion, for example…which would be as bad as handing a gun to her if she said she wanted to commit suicide).
You, she, and your child are in our prayers. Let us know how it turns out. Either way, you will all continue to be in our prayers.
I Came across your web site after my wife left a couple a weeks ago.
Last year in China we was expecting are second child,we talked about having the baby and we decided to have an abortion.At the time i remember asking my wife are you sure you will hate if you do.She said she would not and she was sure.
Fast forward to here in Cebu(my wife is a filipaina) couple of months ago my wife told me what she had been carry around since we meet for years ago.This was only when she left to go back to her home city.As it was the past i said leave where it is and come home.Which she/we did however out of the blue she packs her bags and goes home the next day.This after a normal day off with me and are daughter had family pictures taken then by the late afternoon she packs her bags and goes.
She tell me she needs to go because she need to earn her own money this i did not understand as she could have done this here.
Turns out that she/we have not had closure after the abortion,.We never talked about her feeling not once,i for a much as I love my wife did not know what to say or do,and she never said anything at all.
since the abortion noticeable this year she had grown distant from me would do thing to avoid
Thing I just was not there for my wife acted more like a boyfriend not a loving husband/father of are beautiful daughter.
Even before this dream what the little boy/girl would be like.time to time always asked myself what it would be like to have a boy after 3 girls.
How can i make right what i put wrong.How do I give back to my wife herself.And mend are family
Any advice.
You and she should both find and participate in a post-abortion healing program. Here are tips on what to look for and how to find one. I’m not sure what is available in Cebu or the Philippines. You may have to travel. You may also need to contact some churches and ask if they know of any programs. Many Catholic dioceses have post-abortion healing programs. You might also find a number of books on post-abortion healing.
Perhaps the most important thing to do is to start grieving together. Break the silence. Apologize to her and tell her how much you are hurting both because of her hurt and because of the loss of your child. Pray together and ask God to help you name your child and each of you can write a note of love and apology to the child. Then perhaps you can find some other way to memorialize the child and your loss. All of this will help to make the grief process more real . . . like when burying a loved one. It is best to find a post-abortion healing group that can help both of you through this process. But you can do it. Don’t give up hope. Be open to sharing your concern, love, and grief and your promise to be with her as she works through it all, too.
You and your wife and children are in our prayers.
Hiya El,
Thanks no grieving taken place however seems like she moved onto life without me.is normal that she can been in love with me lost and than next day no feeling.Trying to understand if what she says all linked with the abortion.
moving out,wanting to do things by herself..etc..
I’m sorry to hear that she has moved out. I pray that with time her heart will heal and soften toward you. I’m sure that she does still have feelings for you, but they are mixed and overcome by her own ache which she is trying to cover over by hardening her heart and “creating a new life” for herself . . . which requires pretending that her old life doesn’t matter any more. Hang in there. Be as loving and patient as you can be. Deepen your patience with prayer for her and your children. Even if she won’t participate, I would still encourage you to go through a post-abortion healing program to help you both with the loss of the abortion, in understanding her, and for help dealing with the grief associated with your broken marriage.
I had an abortion 4 weeks ago. Before I made my decision I did a lot of research about the procedure and whether or not I’d regret my decision after. I was on the fence about the whole situation because I’ve always wanted to be a mother and I love children so much. Before I fell pregnant my bf (then) disrespected me and treated me like crap. He used me call me names and he just vilified me every opportunity he got because he had money and cars. He would call me names in front of his friends and they would often ask me how I put up with it.
I hated it because material wealth doesn’t move me and I tried to love him anyway.
Two months down the line I found out I was 5 weeks pregnant. I told my bf about it, he was “happy” but showed no effort as a father-to-be. I was confused because he always said he would love to be a father. But when I asked him for support the only thing he said was “relax and respect yourself you’ll get enough money” it hurt so much because it felt like our baby was a transaction or a business deal. I wanted him to be there physically and emotionally but a month would pass without him coming to visit me even though he lived 20 mins away. I begged him to come to appointments with me so he could hear the baby’s heartbeat but told me he was busy.
All the things that he did to me before falling pregnant started to haunt me and I kept on fearing that he’d do the same to our baby because he is unstable. I was worried and fell ill because I grew up without a father and my mom raised me on a shoestring budget. I was afraid that history would repeat itself. It was hellish.
I went ahead and booked my appointment for the abortion. I told him I was going to do it and he said “thou shalt not kill…that baby is innocent and if you kill my baby you will never conceive again and don’t call me ever”. That drove me insane and I had the abortion. I tried to reach out to him after the procedure but he just laughed at me (if you know the evil chuckle). I was mortified.
I thought I would be relieved after because I had escaped him but no 🙁 I just can’t describe the grief my body went through. I keep on getting flashbacks of my ultrasounds and how big my angel had gotten. I regret my decision because I panicked and wish I had waited a little bit longer. I also used my best friend’s abortion as a benchmark but I was wrong because our situations weren’t similar. My other friend tried to talk me out of it but I wouldn’t listen because I wanted my bf’s support not his. The whole situation made me re-evaluate the whole relationship. I’ve also just found out that his ex gf that he lied about being broken up with is pregnant. It kicks like a mule but I am now closer to God than I’ve ever been. I kneel and pray to him for comfort and he has done wonders and just keeps on blessing me. I thought I would suffer or die but he is healing me everyday.
I don’t like playing victim and don’t even want to blame anyone for what I did because ultimately the decision was mine. I’m learning to live with my mistakes everyday. We have to hold on and not give up faith in order to see how the story ends. I wish I could have my baby back but I can’t. Abortion is not a joke. If you are thinking about it please please reconsider. If you have done it don’t do it ever again 🙁
Dear Yola,
I’m very sorry to hear what you have gone through, but also glad to her that you are turning to God in prayer. He will help you to both heal and learn from this experience. I strongly encourage you to read our tips on finding a post-abortion healing program. While you can make significant progress by yourself, I’m confident that the help and understanding of others will help you even more.
You are in our prayers.
Hello guys I came on this website seeking emotional support and have been both encouraged and saddened by some of the things i have read here. My fiancé has also had an abortion but the thing is she has two kids with different fathers who aren’t mine a 5 year old boy and a 2 year old girl. I help support her with those kids and I look treat them as if they were my own and also before we gotten together we were really good friends and dated for a little bit and also i had testicular cancer at age 20 and having survived that and having to preserve sperm because there may have a change i could of not be able to produce children.
Im 23 and i work part time and go to school full and we found out she was pregnant back in march she was scared and right away brought up abortion obviously i was against the idea i was completely surprised because two n half years after cancer i thought it was a miracle because i was afraid i shouldn’t be able to produce children. I explained all this to her and begged and pleaded that she not go forward with the abortion she felt we weren’t finally ready but i had my family support her other children fathers dont help her and there families don’t help much but it was different with me my dad and mother divorced years ago but they are both stable my dad an attorney and my mom a part business owner of a grass company i spoke to them had them call her and tell her they would help in any way they didnt approve of me dating her because they felt being responsible for two kids isn’t ideal and i wasn’t ready for that but they were willing to help.
Despite all of this she still had an abortion i was devastated by this and she kicked me off before the abortion and after the abortion i came back i supported her gave her comfort cared for her and her kids while she was in pain.
Now fast forward 7 months later and i am still having lots of issues with her decision it left me feeling resentful, bitter, anger, betrayal, i basically gave up my single life and against my family wishes got with her and supported and loved her and her kids and she goes out and do this even though i proved her her i can be a good father by how i treat her kids and my family would of help support her. Our relationship has been in shambles since the abortion and i am trying to make it work but its hard to forgive and the more she speaks of her dead beat baby fathers the more angry i get.
She said she wants to be marry first do it the right, i was willing to get married what ever i can do save my child life and she did it anyway.
I don’t know what to do i love her i love her kids but i am on the brink of breaking up with her and moving on so i can grieve and find it in my heart to forgive her. I am coming on here as a last ditch effort to save this relationship, i don’t know what else to do
Dear Jason,
I’m very sorry for you . . . both of you. Clearly, you tried to show her you were going to be there for her and your child, but some fear in her was greater than her trust in you. No doubt, part of it was due to her past relationships. It is also understandable that her aborting your child, despite all you did to try to convince her otherwise, is and continues to be a big hurt in your life.
You both need counseling to work through this. Perhaps some individual counseling. Perhaps some counseling together. One post-abortion program that offers an opportunity for couples to go through a post-abortion program together is Rachel’s Vineyard. I’d suggest you read our page of tips on post-abortion healing and resources.
It is not unreasonable for you to tell her that you want to marry her, but you are too worried that all of these issues relating to the abortion of your child eventually coming between you and that you want her to agree to go through counseling individually or with her until you can work through the grief and hurts together. Explain that you want to love and forgive her, but you need help and you need to see that she’s working through these things with you. If you can work through this together now, it speaks well for how you can work through other issues together in the future. But if she refuses you on this request, just as she refused you on the request to marry and give birth to your child, before, it does not bode well for your long term success in your relationship.
You’re a good man, Jason. Clearly, you are doing your best to show your love for her. But some distance may be necessary to help her recognize that if she wants to keep you, she needs to recognize how badly she hurt you and your family.
You are in our prayers.
Me and my boyfriend just had an abortion today and throughout the whole process, he has been the one saying why we cant keep the baby I already have a child she is 8y/o he is younger than me and have no children so I thought he would be opposite. We used to always talk about what ifs if that ever happened which we both agreed to have an abortion but I never thought it would really happen we have been together for about 10mths so he said thats too soon to have one together. I have been crying since I found out I was prego so now I have no baby in me anymore and he hasnt been emotional at all he just cares about his xbox system. Is our relationship saveable or should I just take this as a lesson and leave now before we go any further. Help me please. P.S. I would have kept the baby if he decided we can try to make this work financially.
Jennifer, I am so sorry for what you have been through. I would definitely suggest getting in touch with someone who is a counselor or trained to offer support to you at this time. They may be able to help you work through some of the questions you are having about your relationship and the whole experience you have been through. You can find links to some organizations that offer free and confidential help on our healing page at http://afterabortion.org/help-healing/. Many are run by women who have been through this themselves so you can be sure that they will understand what you are going through. Please read the whole page for other information about the best way to find help, what to expect, questions to ask, etc. I hope you will check this out.
My girlfriend found out she was pregnant 2 months ago. I was very excited but she was sad. She first wanted another child but changed her mind sometime after she found out she was pregnant. She said she couldn’t afford to take care of another child by herself. Her first child is not mine but I treated her as such. I told her I wouldn’t abandon her and with both of us working there shouldn’t be any problems. Anyway she told me later she was going to have an abortion. I was terrified at this thought. I begged and pleaded to her not to do this because it would devastate me. A few weeks later I noticed she wouldn’t talk to me. I confronted her and she admitted she just had the abortion. I almost passed out.
A few weeks later I started to get depressed and guilty. She became angry with me and said that her getting pregnant and getting an abortion was all my fault. That everything was premeditated by me. Even though I resented her I still tried to support her through her grief. I didn’t abandon her. I became sucicidal and started going to therapy. She broke up with me recently because of the anger she had toward me. To this day I don’t understand why she feels that it’s all my fault.
Dear Art,
My prayers are with you as you go through this very bad time. I’m glad you are seeing a therapist to help with your grief and suicidal thoughts. The break up obviously makes things harder for you. But do not despair. In time you will find healing. A resource that might be helpful for you is Men and Abortion: A Path to Healing by C.T. Coyle.
Why does she blame you? Because it is easier to blame others than to look at one’s own faults and responsibility. Sadly, it is so common and human. For whatever reason, she was scared of keeping the baby and blamed you that, even though you wanted the child and were willing to support her and your child, whatever you were offering was “not enough” to make the idea of keeping the baby attractive. On some level, she felt she “had no choice” but to have the abortion and so did it over your objections and is mad at you (ignoring her own participation) that she got pregnant in the first place and was therefore “forced” to make a decision that she was not to happy with herself. It is likely she is already facing grief and guilt but is trying to push past it and is also mad at you for you feeling grief and guilt — which reminds her of the grief and guilt she’s trying to push down and ignore. As time goes on, she is likely to continue to have negative feelings associated with the abortion that will pop up. Even seeing you is a reminder of her unresolved issues, and so likely triggers avoidance behavior. Avoiding you is a way to avoid thinking about the abortion.
I wish I could offer some solution. But the only thing you can do is to give her space and pray for her healing just as you try to work through your own. There is very little that you can do for her when she is turned away in this way. Take care of your own emotional and spiritual healing so you can learn from this experience and use it to help you be a better man, husband, lover, and father in the future.
I really need some good advice,
My girlfriend and I have been together for a year now and love each other like crazy. We both work in oil and gas she just got her welding ticket and I’m a third year apprentice pipe fitter. We work away a lot but are always on the same project we do everything together even have matching heart tattoos and had plans to get married and buy a house.Around 4 months ago we found out she was 3 weeks pregnant we both did not expect this and both made the decision that it would be best to get rid of it because we are only 23 and want to get our life’s set up first.Everything was fine I decided to go on night shift for 24 days for extra cash and she stayed on days we never sore each other by still talked on the phone everything was still good. Half way into the shift she went back home for her cousins wedding as planned I didn’t go as I was trying to get some extra cash to put towards a house. 2 days ago when she got back to work she had a melt down on the phone to me about how she was so upset. I took today off to sort it out but she was a mess wouldn’t let me touch her wouldn’t stop crying said how this was the biggest mistake of her life and how I am some what responsible. We did agree to see a councilor on Friday but she left to stay at a friends place and wants to go on a break till its all sorted, said she feels so lonely and if she hates her self how could she love me and it be totally unfair on me. I tried talking her out of it but she keeps pushing me away. I really don’t know what to do this girl is my life and I couldn’t imagen living without her I want her to be happy what do I ??
If I understand your story correctly, Daniel, she had the abortion a couple months ago and for a while seemed to be dealing with it alright until she recently had what appears to be an emotional melt down and is not distancing herself from you. If so, here are my thoughts . . .
First, she may well have been struggling with the abortion even during the months she seemed to be doing okay. But she was trying to put on a strong face and at least to pretend things were normal. It’s also possible that something else simply triggered the pent up grief.
It is good that she has agreed to see a counselor with you. If you don’t make any progress, and you might not because many counselor’s have no training regarding post-abortion grief issues and may even be “programmed” do ignore the abortion as much as possible and to shift the session to other issues like your relationship or her issues with parents, et cetera. If the two of you don’t see progress, I strongly encourage you to read our tips and resources on finding a post-abortion healing program.
Try to examine your own heart for feelings of grief, loss, and guilt and be prepared to share these with her. Grieving together is healing. If she is grieving and perceives you as just fine with the abortion, that’s not very comforting and will make you appear even farther away from where she is emotionally.
I understand that from a practical, logical view, it made sense to not have a baby at this time. But abortion does not simply turn back the clock and put things back the way they were before she became pregnant with your child. Once she was pregnant, she was already a mother and you were already a father. The only question before you was whether you would be parents of a child that would be born and loved or a child that would be aborted . . . and perhaps with some effort, forgotten. Abortion is not a time machine. It is a real experience, and for many women, and even many men, a traumatic one. It can dramatically change how one sees oneself as good or bad, moral or immoral, brave or cowardly, paternal or selfish . . .
It can be a profound, life shattering experience, both literally and figuratively.
I don’t know if you are a religious person, but even if you’re not, now might be a good time to pray about this. Pray for the grace to share her sorrow so that she doesn’t have to grieve alone. Pray for the grace to be truly repentant. Pray for the grace to be honestly able to tell her that you are sorry you weren’t brave and loving and committed enough to have said, “Let’s do this! Being the father of your child, our child, is the best thing that could ever happen to me.” Instead, you bought into the lie that anyone can ever “get ready” to have a child and were more worried about earning more money to have more things and more security instead of trusting that all good things would come in the proportion you need them as long as you kept open hearts of love . . . so open they could rejoice and embrace a new child in the world who was a gift to both of you that would have increased your love for each other . . . but you blew it. And she did, too. But if you want to help her, you need to accept and tell her that you blame yourself more. You should have been a leader, a protector, a provider, a cheerleader giving her the encouragement she needed to have confidence that it would have all worked out and that you were going to always be there for her and your child. But you blew it. You weren’t the man you wanted to be and now she is suffering because of it, and you have both lost the precious, irreplaceable gift of your child. God willing, if your relationship survives this, maybe you can have other children someday. But none will replace this child, who even in his or her passing has taught you valuable lessons about authentic love and how a real man, real lover, real father should embrace and protect the lives entrusted to his care.
Re-read what I’ve written again and again. Open your heart to your own responsibility and grief. The best hope you and she have of not only repairing but even of deepening your relationship is for you to catch up and share her grief. As your tears mix, as you learn from your mistakes together, you may help each other to heal and grow together.
You are both in our prayers.
Hi I just thought I’d seeik advice
I recently had an abortion 2 months ago and was a bit excited but scared at the same time about being a mommy again with a person i love.
I am no married but have a boyfriend and we have been dating for about a year I gave him the news and it seemed that he was excited at first but as the weeks went by and i attended my doctor visits for the baby he seemed to be distancing himself I remember every sunday I’d get alerts on my phone updatiing me on our babys development and one sunday he didnt give me any response when i said “babe the babys 5weeks today” very excited all I got was a pathetic fake grin and no words…
we later talked I questioned why he didnt seem to excited or why he wouldnt make an effort to come with me to the doctors appointments and he just always said he could get time off of work. the conversation then turned to him asking if we were ready to have the child when the past few weeks he had been “happy” or so I thought …I said I didnt know but that I wanted my baby ..
he brought my daughter up from a previous relationship and how it would be harder and how we have to focus on her and getting our future settled..
and we left it at that
days passed morning sickness moodiness and all the symptoms the beauty of motherhood goes with were a daily reminder of that little seed trying to make itself
know…he couldnt handle my mood swings and fights started to occur …
he never said no we are not having it but never said yes either…
mre days passed and i knew with time passing and my child growing it would only be harder.so i asked him what we were doing .. he said he didnt know that he was confused that he didnt know what the right decision
was …but i knew he wasnt up for it.. so i scheduled a visit to an abortion clinic and he took me got off of work early to take e to my appointment i must have been about 9 weeks..
theywere suppose to give me a pill to stop the pregnancy but my insurance didnt cover it so they gave me temporary insurance and also advised that the pills werent recommended if id be working because of the heavy bleeding .. so i chose the sergical procedure..made an appointment for the following sunday told him and not another word was said he asked if i needed money and i said no.. id cry every night
i knew i wanted my baby but i also knew that keeping him would be difficult without his father and since i have been a single mother to my 5year old daugter
the thought of having 2 children fatherless broke my heart and fear took over pushing me into abortion as i knew my boyfriend wasnt ready…i cried everynight until that sunday isolated myself had anger towards my partner and shame upon myself grew the thought crossed my mind that i wasnt woman enough to keep my child …that the love for his father was stronger
that sunday came woke up cried put pjs on cried the whole time i filled out paper work at the clinic and all there was was silence between my boyfriend and I 4 hours later it was done and i was in the recovery room not too much longer did the sense of regret fill my heart..
anger as soon as i saw him as well
he asked if i was okay all i replied was yes bluntly…
later that evening we faught verbally and i poured out with anger and emotions since he didnt try or even attempt to grieve with me or show support … i said i hope ur happy
alot more was said
daily fights occur now i go to church and pray that our relationship will see brightbut days but 2mons laters its only gotten worse we have drifted apart sadly we fight and argue sexual relaitions dont even occur anymore…
we had the most amazing relationship perfect until then
and i just wish i knew how to make it better
i have been having sleepless nights thoughts of ending the relationship.. but im scared i feel i will only make the pain greater by leaving please help
Dear Destiny,
I’m so sorry to hear what you have gone through. It is unfortunately so common that the anxieties about the future end up in people falling into this terrible trap. Your boyfriend was trying, at least half heartedly, to show that he was willing to stand by you if you had the baby, but his own fears and anxieties prevented him from embracing the excitement and joys of being a father . . . and so he subconsciously or intentionally showed you his reservations and fears and doubts and on some level hoped you would decide on the abortion (and not him, so that he could shirk moral responsibility for it and push that off on you, too.) And your own anxieties about what would happen if he did leave you also began to play on you until you felt you had no choice . . . even though every maternal instinct in you was to just be happy and enjoy having your and his child.
It breaks my heart that you were unable to find the support and encouragement…and perhaps the relationship counseling you needed…to prevent this tragedy.
But that’s all water under the bridge. Looking forward, you really need the support of a post-abortion healing program. Many offer programs for men too, and at least one, Rachel’s Vineyard, offers a program in the form of a weekend retreat where they encourage both women and men to go as a couple. If there is any way to save your relationship, and even to use this experience to better understand each other and deepen the relationship, I think it will come about by the two of you working together through the grief and forgiveness process. While you should definitely take care of yourself and work through healing with a post-abortion counselor even if he refuses, I’d encourage you to not only invite him to do it with you but ask him to do so for both you and your relationship.
You are in our prayers.
Thanks !
i never think that having an abortion is give pressure,stress, self hate , regret and mistake that’ll always remember for my entire life untill it happen to me and my girlfriend . When the 1st time she told about it to me,we didn’t know what we suppose to do, we have no income money, no place to live ,no person to talk with about our problem and both of us are still live with our parents. after we disscuss about our future like a week we both decided to have the abortion. when the abortion time pass over she lost trust in me ever than before. i tried everything to keep on our relationship more than i ever did . But in the end we both finish our talks with anger , non-believing , problems and crying . i’m so hated myself for what i was involve with and i decide that i won’t let it never happen to us again . But no matter how i tried she still don’t believe what i’m saying , she lost her self confidence and she is thinking that she’ll not be loved by any one including me because of that abortion . i said her i’ll be her man forever and i’m sure that i want to spend the rest of my life with her . i was thought that the abortion’ll go over when it end and we’ll love again like the old time. but now ,everyday is in pain for both of us. i’ve realized my own lesson for my stupidity and my love , my plans and my minds for her won’t change forever . She still don’t understand what’s happening in my mind , its killing me and killing her thou . Please Give Some Helpful advices for my girlfriend and me . we both love each other , and i’ll never give up hoping and loving her . thanks !
You should both seek post-abortion counseling from a counselor trained in post-abortion issues–not just any counselor, but rather from someone trained in this area of specialty, and most likely someone who has been through this herself or himself.
There are groups for men, also.
Even if she will not seek help, you should seek counseling for yourself. Perhaps as you work through healing, some of it will rub off on her and she will then pursue it later. Encourage her to get help, but do not wait for her if she doesn’t. Get help for yourself as soon as possible.
Learn more about finding and picking a post-abortion healing program near you here: http://afterabortion.org/help-healing/
I had an abortion over a year and half ago… to this day my relation ship is not what it used to be. I’m not sure how to describe this but Iam almost afraid to have sex because I am petrified of this reoccurring. I do not know if this is normal because I feels very abnormal. Please let me know if anyone else out there feels this way. Or if anyone has any tips for me to patch my relationship and try to return to normalcy.
You are not abnormal. After an abortion, many women experience difficulties with sex and fear of pregnancy and another abortion. In one survey of women who sought post-abortion counseling, 58% had loss of pleasure from intercourse, 47% developed an aversion to sexual intercourse or became unresponsive, 33% experienced more pain during intercourse, and 49% had greater fear of becoming pregnant again when waiting for each period to begin.
There is help, however. We encourage you to read our page with tips and resources for finding a post-abortion healing program near you.
my gf got pregnant back in March of this year(2012) n stayed 7weeks pregnant before you got an abortion, it was a very emotional and difficult decision but us both being 18 without jobs and our parents struggling just to keep a roof over our heads let alone support another baby, at least thats we told ourselves……
And ever since it happened, she’e been much less loving and caring and affectionate n mostly gets annoyed n upset with me over things that never upset her before….she even told me she didnt love me the same anymore n that she didnt know why :{ whenci brought this up, the abortion, she says thats pretty much the reason she stopped loving me, but as for why, sh just says “i dont know” i even asked if it would hurt her to see me get with anonther girl “uhh idk maybe idk” if she loved me so much why wouldnt she just say yes it would hurt , i just wish i knew what happened :{ everything was almost perfect before it and now she doesnt even love the same :*{
She can’t explain…and may not even understand…because it hurts too much to think about the abortion.
The “rationale” reasons for the abortion were, and remain, the only things she has to justify a choice that cost her so much of her own growing sense of what is it is to be a woman and a mother.
You both would benefit from participating in a post-abortion healing program, as has been recommended in previous replies.
I had an abortion 2 weeks ago at 11 weeks after an unplanned pregnancy. I have been going out with my current boyfriend for four years. After i found out i was pregnant i was happy and I thought my boyfriend would be happy which he said he was but made it clear he wanted me to keep the baby but had no intention of getting married. I always wanted to get married and I value it . As he had not proposed yet I thought the pregnancy this might prompt him to think of marriage as he is 40 years and i am 30. He told me he was just not ready and I felt that i was not ready to bring up a child as a single parent. He said he would support me with whatever decision I made but I felt that he did not support me through that time. I hung on to the pregnancy allowing him time to think and maybe work something out but i got the impression he was taking time to decide so i would go past the safe period of having an abortion. He went away and it was at this time i decided to have an abortion, when he and tried to talk to me when i he was away, i would ignore his calls as i felt so much anger at him. After the abortion I still have mixed feelings about as it was not an easy decision on my part. Whenever we tried to talk about the pregnancy we ended up in heated arguments. At one stage I told him I would have the baby but did not want him in my baby’s life but he said he would be there and fight me in court if necessary and i did not want my baby in custodial fights. This guy has come back and apologised for everything, part of me feels that i do not want to have anything to do with him at all and part of me feels like i want to give him a second chance. When i talk to him i am so mad and we end up fighting and wish to end the relationship yet on the other hand when I am alone i wish i could be with him and continue our relationship . He has tried to reach to me by whatever means but i keep pushing him away, I don’t know what i should do please help.
Obviously, you both have a lot of mixed feelings about the baby, the abortion, and your relationship. You also both need to find a way to forgive each other and to apologize for your own parts in the confusion, hurt, lack of trust, and lack of commitment.
I strongly encourage both of you to read our tips on healing and perhaps a book, like Forbidden Grief which goes into greater length on the issue of how abortion effects relationships and the negative traps in continuing a relationship after an abortion that must be recognized and dismantled.
You could both benefit from individual post-abortion healing programs, but you may fair even better if you participate together in a weekend program that includes work for couples, such as the programs offered by Rachel’s Vineyard. It may also be helpful for both of you to read some more on how abortion can impact men.
You are in our prayers.
Do not give up hope. Do not despair. Healing can and will happen if you open yourself to it and are willing to look at yourselves fearlessly within the safe environment of people who have been there and want to help you through, too.
after me and my girl had I didnt even wanna think about kids anymore is that ok? I mean I wanted before but now I just can’t look at a child and not wanting to hurt myself. help..
John, as long as the abortion is controlling your feelings and decisions (including a loss of desire to have children), there is a psychological barrier that can and should be addressed. Men can benefit from post-abortion healing programs, too. Please read our tips on healing and also some of our articles related to the impact of abortion on men.
You can work through this. Don’t let the abortion control your life and deprive you of the joys of being a father and of the gift of having other children. But don’t just bury this and try to forget about it either. Have the courage to confront it with the help of someone who is trained in post-abortion counseling and can help you transform this experience into one that strengthens you and prepares you to be a better father…instead of a man whose afraid of fatherhood.
Me and my girlfriend had unprotected sex and it made it worse because I actually peer pressured her into having sex with me. so we did and found that she was because her period didn’t come. We decided to have had the abortion because if she was in her last yr in high-school and me in my first year in college and by having a child we both wouldn’t have finish… so we had thought. or I did at least. We ended up having the abortion 3 days after my birthday so that was a real something a person will end up carrying for the rest of his birthdays. We were to have our child in April but that never worked out and now I feel a sort of resentment towards her but when I think about it I shouldn’t because I don’t let her in so it’s not her fault. We use to talk about having a kid and I was all happy and stuff towards that but now I don’t even wanna hear a child’s cry or have her even mention anything about having another because I don’t think we deserve another and it just hurts to talk about it. 🙁 What should I do because I really feel a lost here ?!?!?!?!?!?
Just to add to it we had the abortion also because we knew her parents and my side of the family wouldn’t take it good and we would have to find a way on how to support ourselves.
Start by apologizing for having pushed her into having sex and for encouraging the abortion, despite all the “practical” reasons for going that route, including your fear that your parents weren’t going to be supportive. Apologize for not being confident and bold enough to have told her “We can make it! This baby is a sign of our love. I want to be here for both of you!”
Don’t blame her for the decision, even if she did encourage or insist on it. That will only make her defensive and will make it hard for her to hear your apology and sorrow. It’s likely that she is already, or may someday, blame herself–perhaps even too much! So don’t add to that burden. Just focus on expressing your own sorrow and don’t try to tell her how to feel.
Then tell her how you are hurting, because of your failure and your loss and how you would give anything to have your baby, and her, in your life. Explain how this loss is haunting you, and invite her to participate with you in a post-abortion healing program because it may be the best way for the two of you to not only mourn together, but to actually grow closer together because this will no longer be something between you that is hard to talk about, but rather something between you that you have both learned so much from.
Look through the page on Healing After an Abortion. I know that Rachel’s Vineyard, at the very least, offers weekend retreats which provide for couples to participate together. It can be a very healing experience. Even if she does not agree that she needs or wants to participate in a post-abortion healing program, then go find a group for yourself. There are some groups for men, led by men.
Keep in touch. Let us know if you make any progress. You are both in our prayers.
My girlfriend of 7 months is 13 weeks pregnant, we found out 5 weeks ago. At first she was excited by it but after a week she had told her ex husband & everything changed (she’s got 2 kids already by him) she wants a abortion, I didn’t have a say!! We had a argument 2 weeks ago she’s ended the relationship saying she doesn’t love me anymore. She’s having the abortion tomorrow & taking her ex husband I love her I want her back I’m in bits!!
Matt,
Our hearts and prayers go out to you . . . and to her and your child. I pray she will have a last minute change of heart. I can barely comprehend the emotions that are coursing through you right now as you agonize over your inability to get through to her. I pray you will have some inspiration that could make a difference.
Assuming that she does go through with it, all i can do is to encourage you to be open to getting some help from a post-abortion counseling group, perhaps one especially for men. Let us know if you have trouble finding one.
Try to hold forgiveness in your heart. She’s frightened and confused. Bitterness will never help you or her. Strive always to nurture feelings of forgiveness for her and yourself…and anyone else involved. This is a great loss for you, on so many levels. But I’m afraid that all you can do now is to become centered in prayer and to start learning all you can from this experience so you can not only avoid the same mistakes in the future, but also so this overall experience (with her, the pregnancy, your child, and the abortion) will embolden you to live a more life-affirming life which will inspire others and be a testament to the child you have lost.
Lori
To add to my last comment – He will only open up to you if he is ready and able to. Mene and women deal with situations very differently and to expect him to talk about it openly like you may so it not realistic.
Seek advice from a counsellor and maybe even attend a session together to help him to talk. You will only survive your decision if you talk about it and are there for each other.. Hope this helps.
Hi Lori
I offer you this advice as I went through with a termination this year. My partner and me both for practical reasons decided to have a termination. He is fine with the decision and like your partner didn’t want children yet. All I can suggest is if you can see a counsellor prior to making your final decision.
This is a decision you are making with your head but in all honesty it is your heart which deals with the consequences and emotions of the decision you make. Make sure it is what you truly want as I didn’t and I have a lot of regret about my decision. And in part blame my partner for not wanting a child with me.
Men and women deal with the post trauma very differently and be sure you are in a position where you can both talk together about it and independantly to as without communication resentment may build. Just try to listen to your heart and not make this decision with just your head as unless they feel the same the fall out may suprise you and the emotional trauma may like it has with me cause you a lot of upset. I never expected to feel any emotion as I knew the decision was right for me for practical reasons but emotions are a funny thing.
thinking of you and hope you make the decision that is right for you
Much luv Tas
I just found out that I am 6 weeks pregnant. I don’t feel that I am in the place to have a child, I am not financially stable, I just feel like im not ready. I use to want kids, very much. But in the last year or so, I decided that I don’t want to have kids til later in life, if I choose too, because I have so many goals that I want to reach. My boyfriend, who is a few years younger than me, he also use to want children but around the same time he decided he doesn’t not want children either, maybe later in life, but not anytime soon. We have a generally healthy relationship, minus the few tifts here and there that most relationships go through. When I found out I was pregnant, I asked him how he felt and he said you know i dont want kids, and I was relieved to know we were on the same page, but the last couple days I keep wondering, what if? what if? I asked him today if he was still okay with everything and he said yea im ok. I don’t think he has talked about it to anyone, and I know he went through this with his last relationship years ago, but she didn’t want it, she was also cheating. This is all new to me, not to him. I have been praying about it, and I just don’t think it’s a good time. Does anyone have any advice on how I could get him to open up more about how he feels?
Others may have more suggestions, but I’m sensing that your concern about how he really reflects a growing ambivalence in yourself.
Here’s what happens with unintended pregnancies. It at least appears that all the practical reasons are lining up for not having a baby. Job considerations. Relationship issues. Housing. There are dozens of practical reasons to simply “not have the baby.”
But these practical reasons undervalue the emotional, familial, and developmental issues that are also a big part of it.
The biggest mistake is to think that abortion is like a time machine that just turns back the clock and puts things back they way they were. No, it leaves a pile of baggage in your life and exposes you to real physical risks, including increased risk of premature birth and other problems, including infertility, once you are “ready” to have a baby. And the majority of women who have any ambivalence about an abortion decision, such as you have, are at higher risk of persistent [http://afterabortion.org/1999/abortion-risks-a-list-of-major-physical-complications-related-to-abortion/ negative psychological adjustments].
That you are praying about this decision suggests that you believe that there are moral considerations and God has answers for you.
Have you ever heard that God doesn’t make mistakes? That you are pregnant at all, with a new life, created by God who has a plan for your child and is offering this child to you as an unexpected gift that will teach you new ways to love — at a time when He seems to think you can most benefit from this gift of life and love….well, isn’t God already trying to tell you something? Surely, praying to God, “Do you want me to abort the life that You allowed to come into me?” (especially since He does not give this gift to all who pray for it, just ask those struggling with becoming pregnant after a past abortion), is kind of like saying to your dad on your birthday, “Do you want me to throw out this gift check you gave me?” No. It is a gift! He gave it to you with the hope it would transform and enrich your life.
Praying for “permission” to abort may be emotionally comforting but it defies all the logic that attaches to the idea of an omnipotent, all knowing, unchanging, loving God. What you are calling a prayer is really just a recitation of little arguments to God. You are trying to explain, to GOD(!) about all the inconveniences caused by this gift (which He apparently overlooked) in the hope that you can convince Him that He made a mistake. But if abortion was in His plan, it would be in the form of a natural abortion, namely miscarriage.
Moreover, I don’t think anything I’ve written is new to you. You already know all of this and it troubles your heart and is why you are hesitating despite all the “practical” reasons to abort–and perhaps hoping your boyfriend will change his mind and be the one advocating to keep the child. Why put it off on him? You can and should stand up for your child yourself and insist that he should do the same.
What can you do to “get him to open up more?” Start by asking if, in an ideal world, abortion would ever be okay? Wouldn’t it be better if we could all, always welcome and delight in every new child? And then draw him into the moral questions involved? And when does life really begin? Only when it is convenient for us to say it does? And has he ever thought about his prior child that was aborted? Does he ever wonder how that abortion affected his prior girlfriend (physically and emotionally) and how much does he worry about how it might effect you? How would he feel if this were the only pregnancy you were ever able to conceive, and it was aborted? How would he help you to get over that?!
You are in our prayers. I encourage you to contact a pregnancy help center and ask for additional advice.
I had an abortion almost 2 months ago. 20 years old and raised a roman catholic its something i never thought i would do or even consider doing. I have always imagined finding out that i was pregnant while i was married and planning a cute way to tell my future husband the news. but i found out alone, in a free health clinic sitting on a table crying. Ive handled things well but also have broken down and cried. my relationship with my boyfriend seems to be stronger most times, but weaker sometimes as well. i realized how delicate life is and how precious close relationships are with friends and family. i realized so much that now afterwords i feel like i dont really know anything about how i feel, how i should feel, or what im looking forward to in the future
The ups and downs are likely to continue. Hang in there. If you ever need to talk to someone, please call one of the post-abortion support groups listed on our healing page.
How are things going? An update would be appreciated. You are in our prayers.
Monica, I would suggest talking to someone to learn about all your options first. You don’t have to have an abortion and there are many organizations prepared to help you with resources, support, counseling or even just assistance in talking things out with the father. One such organization is Option Line: http://www.optionline.org/ or 1-800-712-HELP. They provide free and confidential help over the phone or through chats or email.
I just had a abortion and my boyfriend said he will be here for me but he goes on vacation to go see his family and left me crying, scared and not knowing what to do. While he he is out shooting and bbqing something he loves to and i cant even sleep nor eat. Should i be mad at him
Larrissa, you need and deserve the support of people who understand just how serious an abortion is. People will try to say “it’s no big deal,” but many women know it is. Your bf may be coping by being in denial or by burying his feelings or he doesn’t fully understand the true impact of an abortion — especially on you. Please check out this list of helpers — find someone near you to talk about this with you. There are women who have been there who care deeply for you and know how to help you. Keep trying until you find the right kind of help for you. You do need to talk to someone who understands. Good luck and God bless! Here’s the list: http://www.theunchoice.com/healing.htm
How are things going? You are in our prayers.
My fiance and I found out she was pregnant 2 weeks ago, we both want our child… However, its far more complex. She has been having complications, she seems to b far more affected by the pregnancy symptoms than any other woman ive known. And on top of that she’s stressing constantly.. shes hurting all the time. I’m not sure where her head is in all this. She starts law school in July, and she has a schlorship that requires her grades to remain high, and she fears keeping the baby will jeopardize her future. i am a family man, and every inch of me does not want this. She says she fears i’ll hate her forever, i promised i wouldnt, and i dont plan to, because God knows, I love her, but i definately feel something. its not hate, but i definately think shes losing my trust. I cant tell if she wants to abort because of the pains shes suffering, or if shes thinking of only her future. I love her enough to sacrifice my future to provide for her and the baby. i want my child, but the fact. remains, she is in terrible pain. We are both Christians and neither of us feel that this is the right thing to do.. and i pray that shes not just being selfish, because i fear i’ll resent her one day. someone tell me what to do…. how should i feel. i love her, and i want her in my life, but i also want a healthy pregnancy for her. i want my child, but not at the cost of losing her. I fear I’ll never trust her again. Part of me wonders what it would take to make her abort this relationship, and the bigger part of me feels sorry for her, and wants to support WHATEVER will make her life easier.
Call your local pro-life group or pro-life pregnancy center for recommendations for a good pro-life OB/GYN. You want to have someone who won’t be encouraging abortion as an option but will instead be reinforcing both you and her with confidence that things will work out. The pain should be investigated by the doctor. There is some risk that she has an ectopic pregnancy. Alternatively, if it is due psychosomatic stress, there may be things the doctor can do to help with that also.
Early pregnancy is a tough time of transition, both mentally and physically. She need support and encouragement and help sorting out how her future will be changed. I think you can reassure her that you would never “hate” her if she had an abortion, but neither can you assure her that your love would be the same. The simple fact is that having an abortion, which goes against the moral beliefs of both of you, will damage your relationship, perhaps irretrievably. That damage may not result in “hate” but it will certainly result in feelings of disappointment and a diminished sense of her courage, virtue and ability to trust both God and you.
It is right and good to feel compassion for someone we love who is suffering. But just as you can’t let that compassion become an excuse for taking from God the right to decide who lives and who dies. If she were dying from a painful disease, the argument for euthanasia is premised on placing the virtue of compassion above all other virtues, and claiming that as long as one has feelings of compassion when killing another, that trumps the commandment “thou shalt not kill.” The same logic applies to this abortion question. You feel compassion for her pain and fears, but you have to stand strong, both as an example and a leader, and stand for what is right . . . even if there will be months of coping with a difficult pregnancy. In this, as in all of life’s crosses, you have to trust that for both you and her, God has a plan and that any suffering endured while trusting in His plan is, in His grand plan, either good for us, good for others, or both.
You, your fiance, and your child are in our prayers.
Please update us on how are you doing? You are in our prayers.
I have been so stuck in my idea that I DON’T WANT KIDS EVER and I never really opened my heart to anyone, I worked hard had a lot to show for it was independent and proud of who I am. But 8 months ago my very good friend and I had a change in a relationship and ended up being bf/gf. I quit my current job we moved up north where he owns a home and had a brilliant job opportunity and an amazing close family who have become like my own (brother, mother, father) I have struggled to find full time work and have felt so lost and insecure and depressed because I feel as though not only me but everyone around me no longer remembers that strong independent person but things were still okay because I am so in love and we want and discuss a future together, and even when we fight I could still see that future and grasp It as my journey in life. My partner is the one who wants children just not any time yet and I’ve still said I don’t want them and I actually mean/meant that 100% until yesterday when I found out I am 7 weeks pregnant and all of a sudden I don’t know anything I’m feeling, and my partner straight away knows he doesn’t want it yet and has informed me that if I choose to keep it I will have broken his trust because he believed I would get rid of it if I fell pregnant without hesitation until later on in life when he is ready and i was convinced I would be okay with having kids. I’m not saying I want it but I don’t know what I am feeling and why as soon as I was aware there was a little person growing inside of me I all of a sudden no longer know the one thing I have always been so sure in I DON’T WANT KIDS I have never had swayed from that statement and truly meant it everyone I have stated it why now do I feel so lost and confused? And the worst feeling now is I no longer believe this relationship has a solid future no matter what course of action I chose and that’s what hurts the most and it is confusing and hurting me in ways I can’t describe Nor understand I dont know who to talk to I don’t want to talk to anyone but for some stupid reason it doesn’t feel as though I’m telling anyone by writing on here so I have been able to get the words out and say what i the muddled mess of my head emotions an life now is? Please help me, someone!
You’re not alone. So many women have been there. Discovering you are pregnant–even when one is hoping to be pregnant, much less when one is definitely not wanting to be pregnant–is always mind blowing. Even for someone like yourself, who never wanted kids, it is amazing to realize that your body is fertile and there is a new little human life growing inside you, your child.
Obviously, I don’t know why you never wanted to have children. Some people don’t because they just don’t want the responsibility of caring for another person for so many years. While there may be many rewards to being a parent, they figure that responsibility for a child will get in the way of pursuing other interests and goals.
Others don’t want children, because they have hurts from their own childhood. They are afraid of exposing another child to those hurts. In some cases, the hurts are related to feeling unloved by one or both parents…or to witnessing marital discord or abuse…are such that they are just deeply afraid of recreating all the problems they hated.
There could be other reasons, too. At some level, it is probably related to some core fear. Fear of being obligated to love and care for another person. Or, fear of being a failure at loving and caring for another person. Or fear of change. Or fear of poverty. Or fear of abandonment by your partner. Or fear of judgment (if you’re afraid others will think you are a bad parent, for example). Or fear of being dependent on others or having others dependent on you.
Everyone has one or two core fears, and it is likely that this life long sense that you do not want children is related to one of your core fears. Try to understand what the core fear is. This core fear may also be influencing other areas and decisions in your life.
Core fears can elicit either an attack or avoidance reaction. For example, I know of a person whose core fear is a fear of failure which drives her to overcompensate by always challenging herself to choose the most difficult path. That’s a kind of attack reaction, rushing toward that which triggers fear. So in her case, her core fear drives her to take a contrary course. In other cases, the core fear may drive someone to take an avoidance path. Not wanting children is likely an avoidance reaction.
So, I’d encourage you to drill down and think about your core fear.
Then, I’d suggest that you also consider how life seems designed to challenge us. No matter what our plans, life takes twists and turns which challenge us and makes us grow in ways that we might never have anticipated or asked for…but can often be the ways that we most grow.
I don’t know if you believe in God, or karma, or fate, or just blind chance. But certainly for those of us who do believe in God, we believe that often God sends us what we need, not what we want. Why? Not because we want too much, but because we are prepared to settle for too little.
For example, we may think we will be happy if everyone values us as a specialist in our chosen field. And that drives us to succeed. But maybe God knows that we will actually be happier that one person (our child) thinks we are the greatest at everything, if even for a few short years until as a teen they begin to think we know nothing and then as adults begin to think we are at least humans to who try!
In other words, maybe God (or nature, if you prefer) knows better what you need (and your boyfriend needs) better than you do.
While it is “safer” to control the relationships in your life, the real adventure, the real growth, the real maturity, the real discovery of how deep and overwhelming and transforming relationships can be is to open yourself to this new relationship with your own child.
There is so much good that can come from it. There are so many women and men who have accepted an unplanned child into their lives who will attest that it was the most wonderful thing that ever happened to them.
Conversely, there is so much harm that can come from rejecting this opportunity. There are so many women and men who wish with all their hearts that they could undo what they have done. But abortion is permanent. It can’t be undone.
No one regrets having a child. Many regret having an abortion. Overtime, sooner or later, perhaps most if not all will regret it. For if we are lucky to live to an old age, everything boils down to relationships. What are our relationships like with children, friends, and God? Were there relationships that we failed to foster, develop, and embrace? And having that relationship with your child (and grandchildren), then, on your death bed in your old age, will be more valuable than any investment or career success or anything else. Relationships are what matter most and endure.
Regarding your boyfriend. This disrupts his plans, too, of course. No one enjoys seeing their life plans disrupted. But the cost of abortion to both you and him is far greater than either of you can imagine. This is definitely clear in your case because of the ambivalence which has arisen, which is a risk factor warning that this pregnancy is touching you at a deep emotional level that cannot be ignored and that will come back to haunt you. Something in you is warning you not to have an abortion. Listen to this warning bell.
In time, he will adjust. Indeed, abortion will never save a relationship. It almost always leads to a break. On the other hand, having a child will often save relationships. After all, that is what a child is . . . the product of two people’s love which in some way unites them permanently. Once he gets used to the idea, and once he sees his child, perhaps his plans and expectations will adjust and you will all work it out. If you go your separate ways, then at least you still both have your child and the rewards of that new relationship.
I encourage you to talk to a pregnancy help center or hotline person listed on your help page. It would be helpful to have someone to talk to and just listen to you and to encourage you.
I pray you will choose life so that you will have life abundantly. IF you do have an abortion, I pray you will fare well and if and when you need emotional help, you will not hesitate to reach out for it. Our prayers are with you.
Have courage. Do not be afraid! Good things come unexpectedly. God has a better plan for your life than you do for yourself!
Kids do not always join couples. I have seen lots of couples going through divorce because struggling with raising a kid has separated them.
And then what happens? A single mom, struggling to make ends meet to support a kid.
I think you guys are just trying to convince people to not have abortions in the name of God.
But what about the damages of a broken family to a kid who didn’t ask to come to the world?
Lot’s of single moms are glad they have their kids . . . and if you listen to all the praise that kids have for their single moms (for example, there are countless interviews of professional athletes raised by single moms who praise them to high heaven) it’s clear that children can be loved and return love even in broken homes.
While clearly children would prefer to have two loving and in love parents living with them in the same home, even less perfect situations can offer a great life.
No one “asks to come into the world.” Yet the vast majority are glad they have life.
You have been in our prayers. How are you doing? Is there anything more we can do to help?
I’m 39 and I’ve recently found out Im 6 weeks pregnant. My boyfriend of two years is separated from his wife awaiting divorce with a son and step son. He has said from the outset of our relationship that he doesn’t want more children. He is obviously less than pleased about our pregnancy and says he thinks we will resent each other if I have the baby. He is an artist and earns very little and although he has his son to stay part of the week he pays no maintenance because of his lack of income. Our relationship has been incredibly rocky during the time we have been together due to many factors and circumstances outside of our relationship, although its been tough we have just managed to reconcile some differences and we were just beginning to have a clearer space to get stronger together. His reaction to my pregnancy is chilling and all I’ve heard from him is how it will affect his life and career. I hate the thought of having an abortion no matter how hard it is to pull together but I know if I go through with the pregnancy he will resent me and I will be facing being a single parent again ( I have a son of 19 from a previous relationship). To top it off, a few days after I discovered my pregnancy I was offered a funded place on a Phd I’d been prepping for all year together with an amazing job offer. I feel the odds are stacked against me in terms of support and finances and yet I know this is my last chance to have a baby. Is it unfair to have a baby against my boyfriends wishes?
It is not unfair to have a child against your boyfriend’s wishes. It
is unfair
for you boyfriend to pressure you to have an abortion. It’s his obligation to see this change in circumstances as a challenge/opportunity to grow and become stronger in many ways . . . in loving you and your child, in becoming and showing more responsibility, maturity, and leadership, et cetera.
This is not only your last chance to have a baby, it is your last chance to show that you will defend your baby, even from a father (who at least at this moment) is frightened, confused, and unwanting. Someday, I promise, the father of this child will be eternally grateful that you refused to follow his urging to have an abortion. Whether it is when he holds the baby, or sees the sparkle of excitement in a teenagers eyes, or is listening to an adult child talk of his or her pride in his grandchild, he will praise the day that you knew better than to abort the treasure of his child.
Hold fast. One way or the other, things will work out. He may not stay with you. But if he doesn’t, that’s his loss. And maybe he will return. But if he won’t and can’t stand by you in this, then he will leave you for some other reason in the future anyway. It’s not worth giving up your child . . . especially not for a man who in the end is not really committed to you anyway. And the amazing thing is, doing the right thing, protecting your child, is sometimes the one thing that will bring a man’s heart around to where it should be, inspiring commitment and determination to protect and provide for his child and spouse. If that doesn’t do it, there is nothing you can do for him that will make him a better man . . . and certainly having an abortion to make him happy won’t save your relationship. That will be the kiss of death.
You are in our prayers. Do not give up hope. Trust that God will be at your side, helping you and your baby toward a future you will never regret.
Hi Jacqui,
You have been in our prayers. How have you been doing? Is there anything more we can do to help?
Have your baby….God will take care of you. Have no fear.
help me, i had abortion 3 years ago at 18, and have told to my parents, my ex-boyfriend, and best friend. my parents, my family, my ex-bf, ex-bf family all of them consul me to do that, they told me it for my future. for me its not the best choice and its really egoistic.
i left alone with guilt, shame, low self-esteem, low-self confidence, depresion and grief.. i cant tell anyone about my feeling, even told to my mom, she never talk about it anymore.
sometimes, i always think about suicide my self. i cant help it
i always pray to God to forgive me. and help me to forgive my self
i start new relationship with new boyfriend, but end up with broken.. 4 times after i experience my abortion. and i blame myself because what i did. and for the last, i though i finally found someone that i really love but its broken (again) because i have trouble in control and trust.. whenever i see my boyfriend, i angry. such a trauma with boyfriend. but i need them to be with. sometimes i fear of relationship, and hopeless.
i have problem with my self-confidence, walking around like a zombie cant feel anything even my boyfriend always tried to make me happy.. and everytime he make me happy i got headache, and feel sick because im confused what should i act.. and its really not natural.. sometimes some people make me laugh, after i laugh, i cry.. what happen to me?
what should i do?
You need to find someone who you feel safe talking to. That means someone who will not judge you and at the same time respects and understands your grief and pain. Ideally you should find a post-abortion counseling group. These are specialists and many are women who have been through abortions themselves and now help other women, like you, work through the same issued they faced and conquered.
Please read our page on healing for tips and resources and contact info. If you do not have a post-abortion healing program in your country, try reaching out to a church. Many Catholic priests are now trained to understand and make referrals for women who have had abortions who need help.
You are in our prayers. You can email us again if we can be of more help.
Hi Rose,
You’ve been in our prayers. Have you found a post-abortion ministry or someone else to help you through this tough time? Don’t give up hope!
Hi El,
I hope this place is ok to write about my own experience. First thanks for all your time and it was relieving reading about others experiences and your calming responses.
My girlfriend went through an abortion without letting me know about it. We’ve been together for almost 5 years and her reasons for hiding this from me are still unclear and as I read about how women feel after abortion and what I see from her I really don’t wanna open conversations about it. She told me about this after two weeks and one thing to mention before all this is both of us did not want a child due to our many reasons. If I knew about it I would support her as much as I can but I didn’t have the chance.
It is a dark space in my brain to this day that why this was hidden from me and I really don’t want to respond in a bad way. I try to support her as much as I can even though she has zero feelings for me now. She mentions this many times that she doesn’t want to be with anyone and she has no feelings for me.
At this point I really was looking for a help of some kind to what to really do at this point. I really can’t feel the bonds anymore and its a really shocking feeling when you didn’t know about it when she was going through hell. Please reach out to me and if any more explanation could help you understand this situation better please let me know.
Thank you for your time
Dear Mahdi.
I’m sorry for your loss and all that you are going through I can only suggest that you tell her you have been reading about how abortion can effect women, men, and relationships, and give her a link to this page. Tell her you understand how negative feelings attached to an abortion can spill over into a relationship. You understand why it is hard for her, and hard for her to talk about with you. But if and when she ever does want to talk about it, you are there for her.
You obviously can’t force her to talk about it. It may be that what she is going through is beyond words and just can’t be expressed, at least not now. But you can let her know that your heart and empathy still go out to her and you want to help if and when it is ever possible.
Don’t be surprised if she has little or nothing to say in response. All you can do is to plant the seed, or to make the offer, so that someday, if and when it might be helpful to her, she will remember that she can turn to you.
You are all in my prayers.
My girlfriend is having an abortion. She is currently visiting her family in another state. She says she NEEDS me to be on her side. So as a supportive boyfriend I’ve told her I am. She will kill my child and there is nothing I can do. I’m terrified of losing her but I believe this is putting strain that will break us. I’m Roman catholic so this adds another layer of self loathing. I find myself lying to friends and family. Idk what to do. Can loving somebody truly be enough to live with abortion.
She is right to ask you to be on her side, but she is wrong to think that there is only one way to be on her side . . . namely by saying you support self-destructive decisions. She is seriously mistaken to think that you should shut off your brain and moral compass and become a “yes” man, and in the long run she will never respect a “yes” man.
One thing you should do is tell her that your are concerned for her, as well as your child, and also for yourself. Tell her what you’ve read and learned on this website about the emotional and physical risks of abortion for both women and men. Moreover, an abortion is likely to push the two of you apart, while having a child will pull you together. So it is poison for the relationship.
Tell her you understand her fears, her concerns, and how having a baby will disrupt and change the plans you have made for yourselves and for you as a couple. But life is that way. There will always be things that force us to change our plans and shape new dreams. And if you talk to anyone over 50, they will tell you that these unexpected shifts in our lives are often those that are the most rewarding. God knows better what we need than we know for ourselves.
Don’t consent to the abortion. Promise to support her, preferably in having the baby. But also promise that you will try to always be there for her if and when she needs a shoulder to cry on . . . because you believe that sooner or later she will regret it if she goes through with the abortion. If she does, it is highly likely that your relationship will not survive the stress . . . no matter what you do, whether you stand by your principles and continue to ask her not to do this to herself, you, and your child, or whether you bite your tongue, much less if you lie to her and yourself saying you are okay with her decision and support it. So it is a mistake to believe that you can betray your own beliefs and fail to be the man of principle that God made you to be (and she wants you to be!) and somehow save, much less improve, your relationship.
All that said, even if she persists in this misguided and self-destructive path, you can show love and “support” by refraining from making accusations and judgments (calling her a “sinner” or “murderer”, for example) will drive her away, and may even drive her toward the abortion to spite you. As indicated above, there are ways to say that you care for her and will continue to love her even if she does make this mistake, but you can’t support a decision that goes against your own moral beliefs and paternal drive to protect your children, as well as their mother. In that context, it’s okay to say, “I can’t give you my approval for this because it would make me feel like I was sentencing my own child to death. I’m not going to judge you. That’s between you and God. But I can’s say yes to what every cell in my body is telling me is wrong.” As they say in relationship training, use “I” statements talking about your own feelings and avoid (like the plague) any “you” statements which can be interpreted as accusations.
All of you (you, her, and your baby) are in our prayers. Stand strong. Pray. Look for resources. Encourage her to talk to a pregnancy help center counselor or even a post-abortion counselor who can help her to understand that abortion is trap. It will cause far more problems in her life than it will ever solve.
My partner is going tru stress right now and she is pregnate for me ..i have no job and she need my surport ..she keep asking me how can i take care of the baby .she said she want to remove the baby .but i am not in surport of that …as i speack she have remove the baby …but i still fill love for her..i dont know what to do …can someone help me on this
Dear Alfred,
If she has not yet had an abortion, please encourage her to read our page on the risk factors for negative reactions for abortion. If she has already had an abortion, simply try to love her. Be patient with her. When the time is right, if she begins to struggle with the loss, encourage her to seek help from a post-abortion healing ministry.
But you also need to take care of yourself, and your own sense of loss and grief. Men can be negatively affected by abortion, too. Most post-abortion healing ministries also have programs to help men. Read our tips on finding a program. You are not alone. Other men who have worked through a similar experience are able to support and guide you through the process . . . and may also be able to give you good advice on the best way to love your partner while avoiding the triggers that may make her feel hurt by your hurts. There are ways to be honest about how you feel that don’t cast blame on her. Be gentle. But remember that your own feelings matter and deserve respect, too, but it may be better to seek that understanding from others since she may experience your grief as blame, even though that is not your intent. That doesn’t mean you should completely hide your sadness and regret. Just don’t let your expressions of loss turn into blame. Remind her you love her and that you want the best for her. But also ask her to be sympathetic to your feelings of loss.
I did an an abortion early this year,and my boyfriend knows about it,he supported me in doing it.But as time went i started feeling hatred towards him,i feel jelous when i see him with other women.Iam now feeling like letting go this relationship. Advise me what do i do
We encourage you to find a post-abortion support group where you can talk to other women who have been through the same thing as you are going through now. Some tips and help in finding a group are here: http://afterabortion.org/help-healing/
Hi – I to am in a similar situation as you. We made a join decision to abort but I never knew the greif I would feel after it or how let down I would feel when he was unable to support me.
I am caught ina cycle of grief, need of his support and love and hate towards him.
I am hoping counselling and support will clear my mind so I can make the decision that is best for me. Hating the man you love is so hard to understand but taking time to work through your feelings and decide if he is able to meet your emotional needs and give you the future you want will help.
Sending you kindness