Women Tell Senate Panel How Abortion Hurt Them

Bishops’ Aide Praises Subcommittee Hearing

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WASHINGTON, D.C., MARCH 4, 2004 (Zenit.org).- A U.S. bishops’ aide applauded a Senate hearing in which previously “pro-choice” women told how their own abortions prompted them to change their views.

On Wednesday, the Commerce Subcommittee on Science, Technology and Space, chaired by Senator Sam Brownback, a Kansas Republican, heard testimony from women who suffered physically and psychologically after their abortions.

“After 31 years, abortion continues to be an unchecked and unstudied experiment on women,” said Cathy Cleaver Ruse, a spokeswoman for the bishops’ Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities. “We are grateful to Senator Brownback for shedding light on the reality of women’s experience with abortion.”

Michaelene Jenkins, a self-described defender of women’s rights, testified that her abortion at 18 left her feeling “violated and betrayed.”

It “wasn’t the end of my nightmare, but only the beginning,” she said. “I was completely unprepared for the emotional fallout after the abortion.”

Georgette Forney had an abortion at age 16, and said she waited 19 years before she sought help. After her own recovery she began to help others online, and received e-mails from thousands of women who “shared their abortion pain and how their lives were a mess.”

“They always expressed relief to know help was available and they weren’t alone in their pain,” Forney added.

Ruse said, “Many in our culture blindly assume that abortion is good for women. This is a grave injustice to women who are so often driven to abortion from a lack of resources and support, and who then suffer in silence.”

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