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The silence that shrouds the wounds of abortion in the African-American community screams to heaven for recognition. Culture denial that abortions happen in the community clearly does a disservice to those who suffer after an abortion. Statistics show that while only 14% of women in America of childbearing age are African American, 1997 statistics indicate that 35.9% of all abortions are performed on African-American women. This number has been steadily climbing since 1973 when the number stood at 23%.The abortion rate (31 per 1000 women) is approximately 2.6 times that rate for white women (12 per 1000). Since Roe v. Wade legalized abortion in 1973, thirty million babies have perished. Ten million, approximately one in three, have been African-American. If there is ever a question of genocide in our community, let me share with you some facts. In the United States, for every three Black babies born, two are aborted. Every month 133,333 abortions are performed, 41,667 are Black. Every week 30,769 abortions are performed, 9,615 are Black. Every day 4,384 abortions are performed, 1,370 are Black. Abortion clinics target African American communities. Let us not miss the fact that those in the abortion industry make large amounts of money from these clinics. Additionally those who incur bodily damage during an abortion may not have recourse to the law. Many abortion injuries do not make themselves known for many years, until infertility surfaces, frequent miscarriages happen or other unexplained reproductive losses plague a woman who has had an abortion.  Abortion is not a non-event. It does not erase the fact of the pregnancy that began. Some little known, but profound research reported by a Vatican conference in 2000, states that women carry cells from every child they ever conceive the rest of their lives. These cells are lodged in the part of the brain where instinct lies and continue to be interactive, even 37 years later. Women never forget the children they conceive. The reality is that abortion weighs heavy on the hearts of many women, but the shame and guilt inhibit her from seeking help, sometimes for many years. In the African-American community this is exacerbated by therapists who tell women they did the right thing, if that woman is lucky enough to have access to a therapist. It is a hard thing to admit for many women because they know that someone would have helped care for their baby. To have an abortion is to reject the other women in their family circle and so they suffer in silence. Some of the long-term symptoms seen in women who have abortions include suicidal thoughts, increased drug and alcohol use, especially in subsequent pregnancies. In a study in California of 12,000 pregnant women, it was found that those with two or more prior abortions all consumed alcohol up to three ounces per day for the entire pregnancy. In a study of inner city women in Boston seeking prenatal care, they found that those reporting cocaine use were twice as likely to report two abortions and were three times as likely to report three abortion compared to a non-cocaine using group. Women who have previous abortion losses are highly anxious in subsequent pregnancies and may not bond well with these children. Some women become overly protective but emotionally very distant. An abortion can cut away at the roots of male-female relationships because to reject the child conceived is the ultimate rejection of the partner. Women are likely to get pregnant again to try to replace that child and fathers who lose children to abortion often try to reimpregnate, also to replace his lost child. Depression, grief, shame overwhelm women after an abortion. Domestic violence can erupt. Faith slips away sometimes because in her heart of hearts she believes she has committed the unforgivable sin and she is hesitant to come to the Church for help, because she fears condemnation. There is an awareness in the African American community that is lost on the white community and that is the knowledge that what is conceived in a pregnancy is a child, not a fetus or a blob of tissues. I believe that this makes the loss harder to endure, because there is not psychological game playing about the reality of abortion. I have ministered to women and men for twenty years since I founded Project Rachel, the Catholic Church's post-abortion healing ministry. Over the years I have encountered African American women who were shattered by their abortion losses, but unsure of how to go about seeking help. I have gotten calls from African American men who were devastated that their girlfriend would consider aborting their child. I have talked to uncles and aunts of lost children and grandmothers of lost children and all of them are mourning for the child that was lost and very worried about the woman who had had the abortion. I have had women share incredible experiences with me of trying to keep the abortion secret to spare their mamas the pain of their decision only to have that mother show up unbidden at the abortion clinic or at the door of her apartment in the midst of her pain. Recently in my community a tragedy was laid bare when a young African American girl conceived a child and at the urging of and with the full support of the boy friend's mother she had an abortion. The girl's mother and her family found out what had happened and were devastated. This matter made it's way into court system when the girl's family sought damages. This young woman was attending one of our Catholic high schools. And ironically, in the years of doing this work, as I travel all over the country, only rarely do I have an African American caregiver turn up. It is a rare occurrence to have someone come to one of my trainings. I often wonder who is providing care for those who are hurting. Over the years I have had several conversations with leaders in the Black Catholic community about this and even there, there is no agreement on how to deal with the issue. One woman told me that because the black woman who has an abortion is looking for parity with her white sisters, that she should be in ministries with white women. But experience indicates that they are not coming to those ministries. Others have said that there should be ministries for women in our African American communities where it is safe, but again, experience shows that there is not much there either. If the incidence of abortion is so high, where are the hurting women? Who is caring for them? Interestingly, during the Millennium year the Pro-Life Secretariat of U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in cooperation with the Archdiocese of Washington, Archdiocese of Baltimore and the Diocese of Arlington, VA sponsored a public awareness campaign in the greater Washington area. Part of the campaign included radio spots with distinctively African American voices talking about their abortion losses. Every time that ad aired there was a surge in calls form African American women. It told us that there is a huge well of untapped pain that needs to be addressed directly. There are resources in our communities that need to be called forth. Let us promise to work together to reach out to those who are in pain in the African American community. Let us dare to speak the prophetic word that is so needed in our community that abortion is not good for men, women or children. And let us work together to develop resources for those who are hurting with compassion, wisdom and love. Let us resolve to heal the soul wound within our community by naming the problem and calling forth caring individuals who can lead this ministry. By Vicki Thorn, Executive Director of the National Office of Post-Abortion Reconciliation Healing, P.O. Box 070477 , Milwaukee, WI Email: noparh@yahoo.com Phone: 1-800-5WE-CARE |
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