According to data from the Guttmacher Institute, established in 1968 as a subsidiary of Planned Parenthood, one in four women in the United States have an abortion. Evangelical Protestants have abortions at approximately half that rate, which is a better percentage overall but still uncomfortably high.
Author Camille Cates has experienced both sides of the abortion issue. When she entered high school, she gave in to pressure to be sexually active and became pregnant. Though raised in a Christian home, her parents suggested that she have an abortion. Camille chose to deliver the baby.
Tragically, months later, while Camille was at work and her infant daughter was entrusted to her boyfriend’s care, he sexually assaulted the child and shook her to death. She’s regretted leaving her daughter with someone she barely knew ever since. She also regrets the decision she made next: aborting his baby that she was carrying.
Today, as a biblical counselor, Camille counsels young women who have had an abortion or who are considering one. I’ve invited her to join me on Focus on the Family with Jim Daly to answer tough questions that post-abortive women ask her, like:
- “Is God going to punish me for my abortion?” Are miscarriages, infertility, and life challenges God’s divine punishment?
- “Who do I talk to after my abortion?” How can women avoid suffering in silence? How does God draw a woman to Himself and bring her healing?
- “Why can’t I just move on?” How does a woman both take responsibility and forgive herself for her abortion?
- “What’s behind it?” What factors contributed to the choice to have an abortion?