Last week on BreakPoint, I told you about the convocation address I gave at the University of the South in Sewanee. The theme of my talk was the importance of civil discourse and freedom of speech, and how without them, we cannot have a healthy and free society.
I told my audience that I do in fact see efforts, especially on college campuses, but also in the media, to silence opposing voices on a whole host of issues.
And nowhere is this more evident than with abortion. And it's not just that pro-life advocates are often shouted down or kept off campuses or the airwaves. No, what really concerns me - actually, what really pains me - is that we don't hear about a whole class of people who suffer deeply from the wounds of abortion. And that is the women who deeply regret terminating the lives of their babies.
Instead, we are treated to accounts of just how wonderful abortion is. The daughter of a friend of mine attends a chic-chic school here in Manhattan and she was made to watch a video of women raving about what a great decision it was to have an abortion - with no opposing viewpoint. It is heartless propaganda.
And you may remember the story last year about an abortion counselor who filmed her own abortion, saying it was so "positive" and empowering. She posted a video on YouTube, to the wild cheers of the pro-abortion lobby.
Yet the truth is, many women who get an abortion do not feel heroic at all. They feel devastated. My wife, Susanne, who directs a pregnancy center here in New York, sees these victims all the time.
In my book, "Miracles," I write about a friend of mine named April who had an abortion and who was emotionally devastated by it. She found herself pregnant and thought, like many women facing the same predicament, that abortion was her only option. So she went to the abortion "clinic." They gave her a paper gown and flimsy slippers, but zero compassion or emotional warmth at all. No one encouraged her to keep the baby, by the way, and when the "procedure" was done, April wept.
Eventually, thank God, April found healing and forgiveness. But when was the last time you saw a sympathetic portrayal in the so-called "mainstream" media of one of these victims? Why won't Oprah have a show on these women? Why can't we hear both sides of this story?
Like April, many women face regret, guilt, and depression over the child that died. Some women experience physical repercussions, such as sterility or disease. The fathers or siblings of the baby who died can feel a tremendous sense of loss over the child that they'll never know. These are real heartaches we never hear about.
Happily, there are organizations trying to rectify the situation. Since 2002, for example, the Silent No More Awareness campaign has sought to make the public aware of the devastation of abortion for women and men. It has held 1,400 gatherings in 17 countries and 48 states, with nearly 6,000 women and men sharing their abortion testimonies. Silent No More has even gone into nearly a hundred high schools and universities - not enough, but a great start. Like Life Services , another great organization, it provides practical help to men and women suffering from post-abortion trauma.
Come to BreakPoint.org and click on this commentary, and we'll link you to Life Services and Silent No More . And if you know of an organization that helps people dealing with abortion, leave a comment, and let your fellow BreakPoint listeners know about them.
So until abortion is a sad memory in America, let's speak up for these silent victims of abortion. If we don't, who will?