Healing After Abortion

Healing After Abortion

Women who have had abortions need a safe place to heal, find comfort, hope, and understanding after the aftermath of abortion.

What do you do with the deep pain and grief of abortion? Where can you turn for help to know you’re not alone? Women who have had abortions need a safe place to heal, find comfort, hope, and understanding after the aftermath of abortion. To help you find the healing you need, we at Just Between Us (JBU) put together the following list of resources and articles.  

POST-ABORTIVE BIBLE STUDIES

Surrendering the Secret (LifeWay) by Pat Layton

This 8-week Bible study, which includes a leaders guide and member book, focuses on 8 foundational steps for post-abortive healing:

  1. Share the story – Post-abortive women need to tell their stories to people they trust.
  2. Look at the truth about abortion – How does God view abortion?
  3. Deal with anger – Acknowledging and releasing anger is important in order to heal.
  4. Pursue forgiveness – God wants post-abortive women to forgive and receive forgiveness.
  5. Walk through grief and guilt – Confronting the truth requires acknowledging the loss of a child.
  6. Exchange bondage for freedom – God can transform every heart and mind given to Him.
  7. Conduct a memorial service – A time of remembrance helps women know they are loved by God.
  8. Share through healing – Women who have been healed and forgiven are ready to be used by God.

Forgiven and Set Free  by Linda Cochrane

Women who hurt after an abortion usually have such deep scars that they have difficulty talking about their pain.  Linda Cochrane, who suffered from post-abortion syndrome, gently helps these women open up and unearth deeply buried feelings of stress, guilt, and shame in an atmosphere of love and acceptance.

BOOKS

WEBSITES

OTHER

6 Things My Friend Did Right

  1. She pressed into God for her own healing and restoration, allowing Him into the secret places of her heart so she would be a ready vessel for His use. She taught me early on that you cannot give what you do not have. (Titus 2:3-5; Eph. 4:15)
  2. She stayed in God’s Word, studying His truths so she was prepared to lead me into His precepts. (Prov. 13:20; Prov. 27:17; 2 Cor. 1:4)
  3. She responded in love, not judgment. Although abortion was not a personal experience, she had experienced other sin and loss that she was willing to share. (Prov. 17:17; Rom. 12:10; Jas. 1:19; 1 Pet. 3:8-9).
  4. She didn’t pretend to have all the answers, but she was ready and willing to help me find them. (Eccl. 4:9-10; Heb. 10:24-25)
  5. She let me tell my story. She listened, she cried with me, and she offered me hope (Rom. 12:15; Rom. 15:7; Jas. 1:19)
  6. She provided a safe place I knew I could trust. She kept my confidence until I was ready to share my story with others (Prov. 17:9; Prov. 27:6)

5 Things Your Church Can Do

  1. Educate and equip pastors, ministry leaders, students, Christian counselors, and caregivers about abortion and its aftermath.
  2. Readily and openly display your church’s availability to minister to those affected by abortion through visible literature, website paths, Bible studies, testimonies, and open communication both inside and outside the church.
  3. Allow those who have been healed to champion pro-life causes in your community, state, and nation that will allow the world to hear God’s truth about abortion from a biblical perspective and love-based voice.
  4. Support and encourage those in your church family who are willing to share and offer Bible studies. This is a lonely and tough ministry. They need your encouragement and open endorsement.
  5. Support your local pregnancy resource center and post-abortion recovery efforts with your prayers, finances, and volunteers.
2024