For decades, “Clare” suffered deeply from the trauma of aborting her unborn baby.
The Kansas woman said she had an abortion at Planned Parenthood, where they rushed her through the process and did not give her information about her options.
Then, an encounter with pro-life advocate Debra Niesen through the Catholic Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas, changed Clare’s life.
Niesen recently shared Clare’s story in an article at The Leaven, the archdiocese newspaper. She said Clare, not the woman’s real name, gave her permission to tell it after she attended a post-abortion healing retreat.
Niesen said she met Clare in 2019 while distributing tickets for the pro-life film “Unplanned.” As she was getting ready to go, she said Clare approached her quietly and shared her story.
“Though I know it will be difficult, I think the Holy Spirit is moving me to see this movie,” Clare told her. “I’ve never told anyone this before, but long ago, I had an abortion. I think it is time for me to face what I’ve buried for so long.”
Follow LifeNews on the Parler social media network for the latest pro-life news!
Young and afraid, Clare said she was 20 years old when she went to Planned Parenthood, but they did not comfort her or help her understand that she had options. Instead, they “simply moved through the process” without giving her information about parenting support, adoption or the risks of abortion, she said. After aborting her baby, Clare said Planned Parenthood left her to deal with the pain on her own.
Niesen said Clare’s story is not unique: “millions of other women [have been] sold a lie when she was most vulnerable. The abortion industry made her believe her only and easiest option was to end the life of her child.”
Other post-abortive women have shared similar stories. One mother accused Planned Parenthood of refusing to show her the ultrasound image of her unborn baby. Others have shared how the abortion chain pressured them to have abortions when they went there seeking pregnancy care.
Niesen, moved with compassion, said she invited Clare to a Project Rachel retreat, which provides healing and forgiveness to people who have been harmed by abortion.
Later, Niesen said she received a thank-you message from Clare.
“I wanted you to know that the reason I finally healed was due to the compassion I was shown that day I picked up the tickets for ‘Unplanned.’ I have carried this deep wound for forty years, like forty years in the desert, and am finally free of the shame,” Clare wrote.
Through the Project Rachel retreat, Clare told Niesen that she finally forgave herself for aborting her unborn baby.
“The Project Rachel retreat leaders worked with me and me alone,” she continued. “They were amazing and compassionate women! … Thank God the Catholic Church has this ministry. I will lead people to Christ in honor of my child in heaven and will help people to realize the evil of abortion and Planned Parenthood to my dying days. Thank you.”
For more information about post-abortion healing services, visit the Project Rachel website HopeAfterAbortion.com.
