Essay Sample on Project Rachel and Abortion

Project Rachel is an organization, created over fifteen years ago, to help women and families who are affected after an abortion and to offer them reconciliation. When you call them, they refer you to a counselor or priest who can help you heal. Everyone in the church is a part of Project Rachel and the healing ministry. About one in four women have had an abortion. Society tells women that abortion will solve their problems, but they never talk about the problems that abortion causes. They try and put the interests of the mother against those of the unborn child. The church acknowledges the effects of the post-abortion. It speaks the truth and why those contemplating abortion should choose against it. They say what is best for the child is also best for the mother. 

Most women do not talk about it, and how it changed their lives for the worst because they feel ashamed. God prepares women both physically and psychologically to become mothers. While pregnant, women begin to feel different and start thinking more and more about the baby. They start wondering about it during the day, during the night, what it would have been named, or what it would look like. To have an abortion she needs to stop thinking of her baby as ‘her baby’, which can cause many mental health issues in the future. Abortion is an unnatural experience that stops the process from happening within her body. Afterward, both her body and emotions start telling saying she is a mother who lost a child. Even when she has a child to mourn she can't allow herself to grieve. If she allows herself to grieve the loss of a child from abortion, that would mean she also has to accept that part of the child's death is her responsibility. Because of this realization, many women go into denial to cope with the loss. 

A study was done by Anne Speckhard that said 85% of women had not expected to feel such strong emotions after the abortion. Post-abortion effects can be things such as discomfort with children, feeling low self-esteem, guilt, anger, depression, grief, substance abuse, crying, lack of communication, or sometimes even suicidal. 72% of the people who were a part of the study reported that they had no identifiable religious beliefs at the time of the abortion. Some suffer from post-abortion trauma which causes reexperience, avoidance, and impacting grievance. With reexperience, women can experience flashbacks, physiological distress, or things that are reminders of the abortion such as seeing a pregnant woman. Some women suffer from grievance or depression on the anniversary dates such as the day of the abortion or the day the child would have been expected. Emotional reactions to anniversary dates are headaches, suicidal thoughts, cardiac symptoms, anxiety, or drug and alcohol abuse. Avoidance is another symptom that women suffer from such as denial of thoughts or feelings of the abortion, or avoidance of activities, situations, or information that may cause a remembrance of the abortion. If a woman keeps her guard up and is constantly blocking out the grief and guilt then she cannot experience a full range of emotions. This can affect her quality of life. Some women do not seek help till five to twelve years after the abortion. This could lead to the use of alcohol and drugs, the start of an eating disorder, or a reenactment of the pregnancy and abortions. All of these “solutions” only end up causing more pain and problems. 

While Project Rachel is against abortion, they say that if you do go through with one, God’s mercy is great enough to forgive you. Jesus gives forgiveness, healing, hope, and the promise that one day you will be reunited with your child in heaven.