Posted on 09/28/2004 3:54:58 PM PDT by NYer
MILWAUKEE (CNS) -- When she was 20, at a time when most young people are on the cusp of life, Yvonne Florczak-Seeman wanted nothing more than to end her life.
That was until she found out about Project Rachel, founded in Milwaukee in 1984 by Vicki Thorn to offer post-abortion reconciliation and healing.
Florczak-Seeman was in her second trimester of pregnancy and had decided to have an abortion; it would be her fifth abortion since her 16th birthday.
"To me they were just fetuses," she said. "I was in total denial. ... I knew the routine, (I) lined up on a bench with another 20 women, and waited for my number to be called."
But having an abortion in her second trimester was more difficult, the vacuum louder and larger to accommodate the more complicated procedure.
"The pain was unbelievable," she told the Catholic Herald, newspaper of the Milwaukee Archdiocese. "This time I knew something wasn't right. I left the clinic and swore I had survived the inconceivable. I swore I'd never go to another clinic."
Three days later, she said, she started hemorrhaging, had to be admitted to the emergency room and was told she needed a surgical procedure. "The abortion had not removed the entire baby," she said. "It was the first time, that procedure, that they said the fetus was a baby."
Florczak-Seeman said her fifth abortion, when it was finally acknowledged she was carrying a baby, began for her "a lifetime of unanswered questions as far as choice was concerned."
She added, "Choice was exposed for what it is, giving the woman the right to end the life of her child. Having ended five lives, I concluded that I didn't deserve my own."
But Florczak-Seeman discovered Project Rachel and forgiveness. She had tried other forms of therapy, but nothing seemed to free her until she came to the program.
"Project Rachel relies on the forgiveness from up above," said Florczak-Seeman, who is now married and the mother of two young sons and a daughter.
When Thorn decided to start her post-abortion ministry, there were not many experts on what women suffered following an abortion.
Thorn, a member of St. Catherine Parish in Milwaukee, originally saw Project Rachel only as an archdiocesan project. But it has branched out into more than 160 dioceses across the United States and several countries.
"I'm in awe of it," Thorn said. "Twenty years later, and I'm still in awe. There is now a multitude of women who are free to walk, smile and laugh again. God has restored a mother's heart to them."
Thorn was inspired to create Project Rachel after helping a friend who had given a baby up for adoption and aborted a second child. It was through this friend's pain that Thorn saw the need for ministry.
"She just kept telling me, 'I can live with the adoption. I can't live with the abortion,'" said Thorn. "After the abortion, the life of a woman unfolds, and the wounds remain to be very deep."
In 1990, Thorn founded the National Office of Post-Abortion Reconciliation and Healing to centralize the ministries rising up across the country. Today the center receives 300 to 400 calls a month from across the world.
Thorn said she believes Project Rachel gives women the strength to speak out about their experiences, in hopes of healing themselves and helping others who may be in the same position.
She has found that as a result of Project Rachel, a huge campaign has erupted from those who have been hurt by abortion. Silence is no longer an option.
"Those hurt by abortion can be the greatest defenders of life," said Thorn.
"We come from different walks of life, but all of our lives were ruined because of abortion," said Florczak-Seeman, today a resident of Westmont, Ill.
In 1999 she founded Love From Above, a program that assists women who are dealing with post-abortive concerns or are contemplating abortion by providing them spiritual guidance, counseling alternatives and employment opportunities.
"The truth needs to be spoken. Our voices need to ring out across the nation," said Florczak-Seeman. "The truth will only come from those who have been hurt. We know whether or not it's a baby. No one can take that away from us. No one can silence that."
Today, Project Rachel links women and others affected by abortion to the help they need, existing as a network of caregivers.
Father Ralph Gross, pastor of St. Margaret Mary Parish in Milwaukee, has counseled women with Project Rachel since the late 1980s.
Since the moment he heard Thorn tell of the terrible aftermath abortion can cause, he dedicated himself to helping these women heal.
"The heart of Christ is very big," said Father Gross. "He would never want someone to continue to be separated from a relationship with him.
"I know abortion is so very wrong. At the same time, we must look at the life of the individual woman who had an abortion," he said. "She must be of concern to us. The church really needs to become more warm, compassionate and caring to these women."
Bump!
Catholic Ping - let me know if you want on/off this list
Project Rachel is a wonderful ministry. I hope to become involved as a counselor one of these days when I don't have a baby :-).
Dear NYer,
Thanks for the ping.
Did you see what I posted in the main forum?
I pinged you.
sitetest
Where are the sperm donators in this story? There's nary a mention of a quite important piece of the puzzle.
Sometimes editorial discretion is called for.
Criminy, abortion or no, who the heck has 5 unwanted pregnancies in 5 years? What a stupid woman.
This is an example of true repentance.
Repentance is not just changing our minds and feeling sad about what we have done. It also means doing the opposite.
Good post.
Ping
BTTT
I bet the pain IS terrible! I had a miscarriage before I had our first child, and I had to have a D&C. Which would be like an abortion, only my child had already died at three months gestation. The pain was horrible. They did this in the emergency room and I had almost no sedatives. I felt everything. Whatever they gave me did NOT take away the horrible pain. I wonder how many women and girls go through pain during abortions? I know they suffer from them emotionally for the rest of their lives. Do doctors tell them this ahead of time? no. The doctors only want the money.
Physicians, first, do no harm!
I too had a d and c following a miscarriage - not in the emergency room but scheduled, performed by my own doctor, staff very gentle and caring, general anesthesia - I suffered no physical pain at all. Abortion could be like that too - all the evil covered up by caring.
I once called an abortion clinic to see what they tell women -- one thing the receptionist emphasized was the anesthesia they provided - tranquilizer or general - something to take away all the anxiety and pain - you would just be very relaxed - I thought it would be very seductive to someone distraught by an unwanted pregnancy.
Mrs VS
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Why the drop after 1960? (in deaths of women from illegal abortions)
The reasons were new and better antibiotics, better surgery and the establishment of intensive care units in hospitals. This was in the face of a rising population. Between 1967 and 1970 sixteen states legalized abortion. In most it was limited, only for rape, incest and severe fetal handicap (life of mother was legal in all states). There were two big exceptions — California in 1967, and New York in 1970 allowed abortion on demand. Now look at the chart carefully.
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Abortion Statistics - Decision to Have an Abortion (U.S.)
· 25.5% of women deciding to have an abortion want to postpone childbearing
· 21.3% of women cannot afford a baby
· 14.1% of women have a relationship issue or their partner does not want a child
· 12.2% of women are too young (their parents or others object to the pregnancy)
· 10.8% of women feel a child will disrupt their education or career
· 7.9% of women want no (more) children
· 3.3% of women have an abortion due to a risk to fetal health
2.8% of women have an abortion due to a risk to maternal health
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So how many women’s lives have been saved by abortion?
Only about 3% of abortions since 1972 were reported to be “due to a risk to maternal health.” A reasonable person would recognize that not all of those cases represent a lethal risk. But let’s say they did. That means that nearly 45 million fetuses were butchered to save the lives of about 1.3 million women. Or put another way; 35 babies are killed to save each woman.
Abortion was legal in all 50 states prior to Roe v. Wade in cases of danger to the life of the woman.
Pro-life bump. Thank you for this post.
What a great ministry.
I think it would be helpful if these women tell their stories. If they shout out loud and strong so that other women do not make the same mistake that they did.
Project Rachel is one of the Catholic Church's best ministries. Is it funded by the Church, or by private donations.
When someone sincerely repents, God forgives them and so do I.
Abortion is psychologically painful and can be physically painful as well. It's the psychological part that doesn't heal well. Even if healed it will haunt them the rest of their life ... what would that baby have been like?
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