As most of you know, the two arms of our agency are clinical and social services. One of the vital and necessary elements of our clinical services is our Project Rachel or post abortion counseling program. Many women and men after having chosen an abortion suffer from an internal wound for the rest of their lives. Our mental health professionals are highly trained and ready to counsel these men and women who carry this wound inside often hidden from their family and friends.
One of the services that the Immaculate Heart of Mary Counseling Center provides is responding to the Project Rachel post-abortive ministry hotline number for the state of Nebraska. One recent call which came to my attention illustrates the important role your prayers play in supporting the pro life movement.
This call actually originated out of state. A woman contacted Dr. Stratman because she was considering an abortion, even though she identified as a Christian who did not believe in abortion.
In her mind, she was in a "lose-lose" situation. If she had the baby out of wedlock, she would be alienated from her family and fiancé (who was not the father of the child). In addition, she believed she would ruin the life of her child’s father, a married man. If she chose to abort the baby, she would have to live with the secret, guilt, shame, depression, anger, and the possibility that all of the aforementioned consequences would occur anyway if her secret was discovered.
Of course, this call is relatively typical for the Project Rachel hotline. Mothers, fathers, and grandparents will call to obtain information and support for avoiding an abortion. Our counselors are trained to discuss these situations with the callers and direct them to the services they need. It is sometimes difficult when a woman who is considering or seeking an abortion calls the hotline. Listening to their stories and entering in to their wounded heart is part of the process that can help move a woman away from an abortion. They begin to feel understood and safe. They begin to understand that the decision they are making is life or death, just not their life and death.
We are not sure what the woman decided to do from the above call. At the end of the call, she was calm and thinking more rationally. She was quite intelligent and articulate, and she knew she needed to consider whether giving her baby the chance to contribute to her life and to our lives. All she needed to hear was someone who would give her the sense that she was able to endure the positive stress of having a baby much easier than the negative stress of having an abortion. When we receive calls from women considering abortion and are not sure what they will do, we name, spiritually adopt, and pray for the baby and her mother for the next nine months. I invite you to spiritually adopt Frances and her mother who called us and to spend the next nine months praying for them.
Even though we at Catholic Social Services accept most major insurances and Medicare, please do not forget that because of our generous donors, we have a grant system that helps clients who come in for counseling who are un-insured or under-insured for some reason. We are and will forever be grateful for your love and support. Please also never forget we are praying for you, your families and intentions!
[Editor's note: find out more or contact Project Rachel at: www.HopeAfterAbortion.com, 1-888-456-HOPE (4673), This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.]
