Throughout most of this month, one thousand 22-inch placards have lined parts the New York City subway system with the” voices” of men and women touched by abortion.
But contrary to what some may believe, the “Abortion Changes You” outreach is not a product of the Christian Right.
It’s the brainchild of one woman who wanted to let fellow women and men, family members and friends touched by abortion – either their own or that of someone close to them – know that they are not alone and that healing resources are available.
“We know how to shout about abortion, but we don’t know how to have a compassionate conversation,” says Michaelene Fredenburg, author of Changed: Making Sense of Your Own or a Loved One’s Abortion Experience.
“It is my hope that in the midst of this volatile political season we might hear something different.”
According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, approximately 1 out of 3 women in the United States will have had an abortion by age 45. And as the election cycle heats up, so does the political rhetoric surrounding abortion.
“The political language surrounding abortion can pick at tender wounds,” says Fredenburg, who had an abortion at the age of 18.
“As a teenager I underwent an abortion believing it was the only practical solution to my unintended pregnancy. Yet I was completely unprepared for the emotional fallout. For years I suffered in silence,” recalls Fredenburg. “After ultimately finding peace, I ended my silence in the hope that I could contribute to creating a safe place for people to dialogue about abortion. Abortion Changes You grew out of not only my own experience, but also the many heart wrenching stories that have been shared with me.”
Fredenburg says she created the Abortion Changes You outreach as a safe place away from politics, labels and debate to meet the needs of men and women who have shared with her their abortion stories and their frustration with the cultural climate.
“One young man named Zach told me ‘I can’t talk to those who are liberal because abortion is supposed to be okay. And the people on the Right are scary,’” recalls Fredenburg. “I kept thinking, what is there for people like Zach?”
Beginning in 2007, the campaign produced of 15 “voices” that portrayed how abortion changes women and their partners, grandparents and siblings, as well as the other family members and friends of those involved. Each "voice" was inspired by real, personal abortion experiences and directs people to the Abortion Changes You website, which features interactive content through which visitors can learn how to build a support system, explore a range of emotions, identify unhealthy behaviors, and anonymously share about their experiences through stories, artwork, poetry, and songs.
Since January, the Abortion Changes You site has drawn over 17,000 visitors from around 115 countries – over 14,000 of which came from the United States.
Within the first two weeks of the latest ad campaign in New York, the site has drawn three times more New York visitors than the average monthly figure for that state this year, eclipsing the number of California visitors by threefold where before they were a little more than half..
Noticeably, the New York campaign has also brought in more content contributors, including one man who shared about the abortion his girlfriend got when he was 18. The man, who later married in his 30s, said it wasn’t until after his marriage that he thought back to the abortion. Continue >>
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I am happy that this woman is doing this to help others especailly in New York. I do not understand why you quote "Alan Guttmacher Institute". Their work is always being sited as gospel by Planned Parenthoo. To me this their assoiciation has been too close with PP and often gives PP a boost by giving information out in favor of abortion. Get another organization for this information to site in your articles about abortion.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/abo_fact3.htm
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/oct/07101109.html
Its sad that so many "christians" claim Christ, but fail to let Christ own them. We are to be slaves to righteousness - Christ is our LORD. We must get out of the way of the Holy Spirit and allow Him to work in us - to be forgiven, to love, to forgive, to aid, to obey. We must become more and more Christ-like, yet so many times we only hear a gospel message that mentions accepting Christ as savior (little 's'), but not as Savior. When we accept Christ as Savior, we come broken to the cross for HIS healing, HIS forgiveness, HIS righteousness, HIS love. And when we do, HE fills us with all that and more.
No sin is unforgivable save one - that of denying the Holy Spirit until death. At that time, we have no recourse. We will have to stand on our own righteousness. Each of us will answer for what we do and say, but those who trust Christ will be found innocent, because He justifies us - God sanctifies us, once to set us aside for HIM, and continually to grow us to become more Christ-like.
God sent Christ to suffer and die for us, that we might have eternal life. He forgive us our sins, if we repent and turn to Him. But the moment we do, our forgiveness is total and complete. He forgives all sin for those who love Him.
I would guess that the young man has run into one or more Christians who do not accurately reflect the love and forgiveness of Christ. How can we communicate both that abortion is murder but it is also forgivable? This is not impossible, but requires delicacy.
The young man who thought that the Right (presumably the Christian Right) was scary is somewhat baffling. The only place to get true forgiveness and healing is in the person of Jesus Christ. Now either the Christians he knows aren't doing a good job of conveying that or he doesn't know any and is just buying what those who aren't Christian are saying about us. Killing your child is sin, but that is why Christ came, to bear the punishment for those sins so that we may become children of God. I'm not sure what would be scary about that unless you are unwilling to place your faith in Him.
Not to sound too crass, but when I read:
"...a common thread moves through them all â