Understanding Abortion
Abortion is the willful and deliberate termination of a pregnancy by a woman or a couple who do not desire to carry the child to a full-term birth. Over 60 million abortions have occurred in the United States since legalization in 1973, with thousands of abortions performed each day.
If you or someone you know has experienced abortion, you are not alone. This page offers compassionate guidance, biblical hope, and pathways to healing.
Post-Abortion Syndrome
When abortion ends the life of a child, a woman choosing abortion can go through stages of Post-Abortion Syndrome (relief, rationalization, repression, resentment). She may experience symptoms such as:
- Guilt and shame
- Anxiety and panic
- Self-hate and self-condemnation
- Prolonged grief over loss
- Bitterness and anger
- Depression and emotional numbness
- Suicidal thoughts
- Obsessive thoughts about getting pregnant again, or fear of future pregnancies
- Difficulty bonding with present or future children
- Anxiety around other children or pregnant women
Abortion Affects Everyone Involved
Abortion impacts not just the mother, but also the father and other family members. Many women report wanting their partner's honest opinion about the pregnancy and abortion decision. However, men may question their right to have feelings or opinions about ending his child's life.
When a man says, "It's your choice," the woman might hear, "I don't want this baby." Sometimes, the man is completely shut out of the decision to abort his child. This can leave him feeling powerless and cause emotional struggles similar to those experienced by the mother, including grief, guilt, and anger.
A Message of Hope
Thankfully, abortion is not an unforgivable sin. While God dearly loves children and knows them even before He forms them in the womb, He also deeply loves mothers and fathers who have made harmful choices. He offers forgiveness and healing to those who are brokenhearted and contrite in spirit. God can heal the wounds of abortion fully and completely.
Important Facts About Abortion
Understanding the realities of abortion can help in the healing process:
Most women make the abortion decision within 24 hours of finding out they are pregnant
About 1 in 4 American women will have an abortion before the age of 45; women in their 20s account for the majority of abortions
Of post-abortive women, 47 percent have had at least one previous abortion
Abortion disproportionately affects low-income populations: 75% of women obtaining an abortion are considered poor or low-income by federal poverty standards
Less than 1% of abortions are for pregnancies caused by rape or incest
Most post-abortive individuals try to keep the abortion secret, fearing judgment and rejection
Biblical Insights on Abortion and Redemption
Life Begins at Conception
The Bible is clear that life begins at conception; abortion takes the life of a living human being designed uniquely by God to bear His image. It is God who forms humans in the womb.
"For you [God] formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them."
— Psalm 139:13-16
"Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: 'I am the Lord, who made all things…'"
— Isaiah 44:2
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."
— Genesis 1:27
Your Body and Choices Matter to God
What has been done to your body and what you do with your body matters to God. God can redeem sin against your body (by others or yourself). Abortion affects more than a mother's body; the baby and father are affected too. A harm suffered or an inconvenient life does not justify a harmful response.
"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil."
— 2 Corinthians 5:10
"…for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."
— 1 Corinthians 6:20
Abortion is Not Unforgivable
Abortion is not an unforgivable sin. Christ died to pay the penalty for all sin—even abortion. He offers forgiveness to anyone who, by faith, will receive his payment for sin as their own. Those who trust in Christ are forgiven, not cursed; redeemed, not condemned.
"To [Christ] all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."
— Acts 10:43
"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."
— Romans 8:1
God Offers Healing
God wants to heal the pain caused by abortion. God offers healing and forgiveness to every human heart. There is a way to be right with God and recover from your wounds.
"The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit."
— Psalm 34:18
"For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,' and you forgave the iniquity of my sin."
— Psalm 32:3-5
God Has a Future for You
God loves you and is pursuing you. He has a purpose and a calling for you. Regardless of the number of abortions you have had, God still wants a relationship with you. He wants to heal your past. You can still live in the purpose that He planned for you when He created you. God has a future for you.
"He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us."
— Psalm 103:10-12
"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
— Ephesians 2:10
Next Steps Toward Healing
- Ask Christ to heal you (Romans 10:13). If you do not yet have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, learn more at our resources page.
- If you have unconfessed sin, admit it to yourself, confess it to God and to someone you trust (Psalm 32, James 5:16).
- Don't wait any longer to deal with the wounds of abortion. God wants to help you grieve the loss of your child in a healthy way (2 Corinthians 7:10). Enter an abortion-specific recovery group or begin to address your abortion in a recovery group.
- Begin to read stories of hope and study some of the resources listed below.
- Find a bible-teaching church and begin to establish relationships with healthy Christians who can help you find forgiveness and healing through a personal relationship with Jesus (Romans 8:35-38).
You Are Not Alone
If you are reading this, you may be struggling with the pain of abortion. Know that you are not alone, and healing is possible. God's love and forgiveness are greater than your guilt and shame. Take the first step toward healing today. Reach out to a trusted Christian, find a recovery group, and begin your journey toward wholeness in Christ.