One in Three
Statistically, one in every three women has experienced an abortion. Our center works to prevent abortions in our community, to encourage abstinence in our youths and singles, and to bring healing to men and women impacted by past abortions.
Recent statistics show that just over 1 in 3 American women will have an abortion by the time they reach the age of 45 [1]. Having an abortion has been termed “a common experience” [2], yet it is rarely spoken about openly by the women who have experienced it. Women who have had abortions may face emotional numbness, guilt, depression and a variety of other difficult emotions following their abortion[3]. It is estimated that over 7,000 women have abortions every year in Newport News City alone[4]. It is not known how many of these women have suffered from the emotional fallout. Our society has left these women few safe places to talk about their post abortion grief and the realities of the impact it has had on their lives. Abortion providers have stated that anyone facing guilt and emotional distress most likely has severe mental illness or that the guilt is due to personal conflict about having the abortion[5].
At CRPC we seek to provide hope and healing to individuals affected by abortion. Although literature advocating abortion has attempted to sanitize, trivialize, and normalize having an abortion, the truth about abortion continues to manifest itself in the lives of the women affected by them. The need is great for a safe place for these women to discuss the realities and pain of abortion as well as the forgiveness and healing found in Jesus Christ.
Roughly forty percent of the women who come to CRPC have had an abortion. It is our privilege to acknowledge the pain of these women and to point them to the help that is available to them. We offer several opportunities for women who are interested in further post abortion counseling. For those interested in a group setting we provide a weekly Bible Study specifically for women recovering from an abortion. This group runs for eight weeks and uses the book Forgiven and Set Free by Linda Cochrane. One on one counseling is also available for women who find this setting more comfortable. The same curriculum is used and the pace is set by the counselor and counselee.
Although our main focus is to help women who have had an abortion, we also offer individual counseling for other family members who have been affected by abortion. Through Post Abortion counseling, whether in a group or individual context our desire is to introduce women to Christ that they may find ultimate healing in Him.