I will never forget the first time in my life that I met a mother who had aborted her own child. She was actor Anthony Quinn’s first wife, Katherine, who was Cecil B. DeMille’s adopted daughter. Katherine Quinn was a lovely lady who was in her late sixties when I met her. She told me almost immediately after I sat down with her that long ago, at the urging of Mr. Quinn, she had aborted their child. She said that she did not know why after all these years she had confided in me. However she went on to admit that she had been in agony over the death of that child and could never really face the fact that she had agreed to the abortion. She suffered terribly even though she and Quinn went on to have four children, one of whom drowned in a swimming pool at the age of four.
I will never forget the sadness in her eyes and the way she looked at me as she talked of the pain of this "secret" in her life. It was truly one of the most heart wrenching conversations I have ever had with anyone.
Years after that when I decided to attend a Rachel’s Vineyard retreat in New Jersey I once again witnessed the pain and agony that mothers experience who have chosen, whether freely or under pressure, to abort a child of their own. The emotional reaction of these mothers is beyond any words I can ever put on paper.
So when I read the headlines in the British newspaper, the Sunday Times, I said a silent prayer of thanks. Finally, the secular world is beginning to admit the cruel truth that mothers who abort their babies do suffer in many ways. The Royal College of Psychiatrists is now stating that "women should not be allowed to have an abortion until they are counseled on the possible risk to their mental health."
First of all, it seems to me that the Royal College would be doing everyone a huge favor if they chose their words with better specificity. After all, the “women” they are discussing are actually mothers. The reality is that if a particular mother chooses to have an abortion she is still the mother of a child. The difference is that she is the mother of a dead child instead of a living child. Perhaps if there were greater honesty regarding the language that is used, a whole lot fewer mothers would wind up suffering in the aftermath of the abortion choice.
The pro-abortion forces have told the public for years that the risk of mental health is far greater for the mother who carries her "unwanted" baby to term than for the "woman" who has an abortion. But the facts challenge such declarations. As anyone who has had a baby knows, there is a time during pregnancy when doubts arise, hormones rage and frequently bouts of moodiness ensue. This is all part of the blessing of pregnancy. While some might suggest that these "moods" are the result of a female carrying an "unwanted" baby, the fact is that with love and time those moods quickly disappear. The hormones get into sync and the mood swings give way to the joys of being with child.
These facts of life are not usually admitted by those who market abortion. The culture of death has attempted to build a wall of silence around any negative consequences of abortion, claiming over and over again that pregnancy is far worse on the mother than abortion could ever be. But now, thanks to the recent statement of the Royal College, perhaps that wall will begin to crumble.
One of the most interesting statements in this news story was made by Dr. Peter Saunders of the Christian Medical Fellowship, who said, "How can a doctor now justify an abortion on mental health grounds if psychiatrists are questioning whether there is any clear evidence that continuing with the pregnancy leads to mental health problems."
Indeed!