Hemline: A Post-Abortion Healing Ministry
Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched Him were made well. Mark 6:56 (NKJV)
Countless women suffer physically, emotionally and spiritually because they have had an abortion. Men may also suffer emotionally and spiritually due to their abortion decisions. Research suggests that more than 40 percent of women of child-bearing age have experienced the anguish of abortion.1 Statistics further reveal that abortion greatly affects women and men in the church as well. Forty-three percent of women who have had abortions identify themselves as Protestant and 27% self identify as Catholic.2
Hemline
Healing and restoration are available for those who have experienced, enabled, or encouraged abortion. The Atlanta Pregnancy Resource Center offers a program called Hemline that addresses the pain and grief caused by abortion. Hemline offers a safe, confidential and non-judgmental environment for recovery. Hemline enables those affected by a past abortion to work through the healing process and receive Christ’s grace and forgiveness. The work of healing is facilitated through the following:
- Group support
- Prayer support
- Biblical guidance through Forgiven and Set Free: A Post Abortion Bible Study
- Education about post abortion stress
If you have experienced an abortion, or you know someone who is troubled by an abortion, please call APRC at 770-723-0772. Ask to speak with someone about Hemline. All conversations and information will be kept stricly confidential.
Post Abortion Stress
Post abortion stress (PAS) is the inability to resolve emotional and psychological disturbances that occur from an individual’s abortion decision or experience. Both men and women can experience PAS. Symptoms may start immediately or years later. When PAS does occur, it can be confusing, painful, and overwhelming.
Post-abortion Symptoms may include the following:
Guilt, denial, depression, anxiety, anger, feelings of loss and emptiness, difficulty with intimacy, bouts of crying, intense desire to become pregnant again, fear of future pregnancies, difficulty in bonding with children, anniversary reaction, feelings of hopelessness, difficulty in maintaining loving or trusting relationships, suicidal urges, drug/alcohol abuse, nightmares and/or sleeping disorders, flashbacks to the abortion, eating disorders, alienation from God.
1 The Alan Guttmacher Institute website, http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_induced_abortion.html; Facts on Induced Abortion in the United States, January 2008
2 R. Alcorn, Why Pro-Life: Caring for the Unborn and their Mothers (Oregon: Eternal Perspective Ministries, 2004), 17.