 I have ministered to women and men for twenty
years since I founded Project Rachel, the
Catholic Church's post-abortion healing ministry.
Over the years I have encountered African American
women who were shattered by their abortion losses,
but unsure of how to go about seeking help. I have
gotten calls from African American men who were
devastated that their girlfriend would consider
aborting their child. I have talked to uncles and
aunts of lost children and grandmothers of lost
children and all of them are mourning for the child
that was lost and very worried about the woman who
had had the abortion. I have had women share
incredible experiences with me of trying to keep
the abortion secret to spare their mamas the pain
of their decision only to have that mother show
up unbidden at the abortion clinic or at the door
of her apartment in the midst of her pain.
Recently in my community a tragedy was laid bare
when a young African American girl conceived a
child and at the urging of and with the full
support of the boy friend's mother she had an
abortion. The girl's mother and her family
found out what had happened and were devastated.
This matter made it's way into court system
when the girl's family sought damages. This
young woman was attending one of our Catholic
high schools.
And ironically, in the years of doing this
work, as I travel all over the country,
only rarely do I have an African American
caregiver turn up. It is a rare occurrence
to have someone come to one of my trainings.
I often wonder who is providing care for those
who are hurting.
Over the years I have had several conversations
with leaders in the Black Catholic community about
this and even there, there is no agreement on how
to deal with the issue. One woman told me that
because the black woman who has an abortion is
looking for parity with her white sisters, that
she should be in ministries with white women. But
experience indicates that they are not coming to
those ministries. Others have said that there should
be ministries for women in our African American
communities where it is safe, but again, experience
shows that there is not much there either. If the
incidence of abortion is so high, where are the hurting
women? Who is caring for them?
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