Reclaiming Our Children: A Blog About Healing After Abortion

Pro-choice author Eve Kushner interviewed a number of postabortion women for a book she was writing. Most of the women she interviewed had had multiple abortions. What was striking about the testimonies is the pain that seems to be festering under the surface of so many of them, even the ones where the woman denied that they regretted their abortions. Here is one typical testimony:

“Toni is a 23-year-old African-American with an easy smile. She makes frequent eye contact as she rattles off all the feeling she had about her abortions. Only gradually does a dissonance emerge between her animated gestures and her words. As she discusses the 3 abortions she had in the last 2 years – the most recent pregnancy ending 4 months ago – it turns out she is downright depressed. Toni conceals her unhappiness, hoping that if she focuses on the positive, her bothersome emotions will disappear.

She explains that when she recalls her abortion experiences, “I’ll get deep feelings of sadness and confusion.” The feelings, she adds, are “related to being pregnant and having an abortion.