Woman Who Had an Abortion Asks Billy Graham: Will I Ever Stop Feeling Guilty?
A woman who revealed to the Rev. Billy Graham that her past abortion is now causing her to feel deep guilt and sorrow every time she sees children has asked if those feelings will ever subside.
"Maybe some women can go through an abortion and never feel guilty, but I'm not one of them. I feel terrible over what I did, and every time I drive by a school playground I'm almost consumed with grief. Will I ever get over this?" the unnamed woman asked in a question-and-answer column published by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association on Thursday.
Graham responded that while what she did "was wrong in God's eyes," she needed to know that God "has not rejected you or abandoned you."
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"He loves you, just as He loved the child that was growing in your womb (and is now, I am confident, safely in His presence)," wrote Graham.
"Furthermore, when Christ died on the cross, all your sins — without exception — were transferred to Him, and He took upon Himself the judgment you deserved. As the Bible says, 'He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins' (1 John 2:2)."
Graham said "deep regret and guilt" is just one among "abortion's unseen (and unacknowledged) consequences."
"Tragically, however, sometimes a far different consequence takes place: spiritual and emotional insensitivity to what happened. This, I fear, is the reaction of far too many in our society today," added Graham.
"The reason is because we have become centered only on ourselves and what we want, rather than on God and His will for our lives (and the lives of our children, both born and unborn)."
This is not the only time Graham has addressed the issue of abortion on the BGEA website. In 2010, a man asked Graham if it was OK to persuade his girlfriend to have an abortion rather than marry her, which was her demand.
"You've probably heard the old saying that 'Two wrongs don't make a right' — and it's true, especially in this case," Graham stressed.
"What you did by having sexual relations outside of marriage was wrong in God's eyes — but allowing the little child that is growing inside your girlfriend's womb to be killed would also be very wrong in God's eyes."
Graham went on to tell the man that he was "standing at a major crossroads in your life — and I pray you won't take the wrong road."
"You have some hard decisions ahead — but isn't it better to face them with God than without Him?" wrote Graham in 2010.
"Don't be pressured into doing something wrong or unwise, but ask God to help you find the right path for your child — through adoption, for example."
