Five Women Reveal the Heartbreaking Impact Abortion Had on Their Lives

Five women have come together to counter recent stories and videos that have offered a positive perspective on abortion by highlighting the negative and life-altering impact their own procedures had on their lives.

From left to right: Abby Johnson, Brice Griffin, Beatrice Fedor, Ashley Granger and Jewels Green (Abby Johnson)

Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood clinic director who is now a pro-life activist, rallied four other women to join her in sharing their stories of intense emotional pain, suicidal inclinations and ongoing guilt after their abortions.

Johnson told TheBlaze that the group is hoping to offer a response to the so-called "pro-voice" movement, which she said is "trying to paint abortion in a positive light."

"What that movement has failed to do is walk with women past their initial abortion," Johnson said. "Five years, 10 years, 20 years … will they still feel empowered by their decision? We don't know. But the five women in this post have experienced the long term pain of abortion."

In the post, "Our Five Surprises After Abortion," Johnson shared her own personal story, saying that she never considered how her two abortions would impact others, including her four children.

"One day in the car, my daughter (out of nowhere) asked if someday she would be able to see her siblings in heaven. I asked her what she meant…honestly, hoping that she was not talking about my own two abortions," Johnson wrote.

She continued, "She said that she knew I had two abortions and she wanted to know if she would ever get to meet those babies because she said, 'in my heart, I miss them.' I never knew I would pass that sort of heartbreak on to my children."

Writer Jewels Green, also a former abortion clinic worker, said in her own testimony that abortion negatively impacted her life.

"Within days I was consumed by overwhelming grief and intractable guilt and attempted suicide," Green wrote. "After spending a month in a psychiatric unit to recover, I worked in an abortion center for five years in an attempt to assuage my guilt, normalize my trauma, and rationalize away my pain. I wandered through life trying to fill the void where my baby should have been."

Green said she still feels regret over her abortion, but that she has found inner peace by allowing herself to grieve and by sharing her story.

Ashley Granger also recalled wanting to end her life after having an abortion, describing how she hit "rock bottom."

"I tried to commit suicide three times, withdrew from friends and family, and I was pretty much high all time to stay numb inside," she said. "After seeking help for most of these issues (except for the abortion) I felt much better. I got married and became pregnant again."

It wasn't until she was married and pregnant again, though, that Granger said she realized the full scope of her actions. Despite being overjoyed in pregnancy, she recalled also grieving the life of her first child.

Photo credit: Shutterstock

And then there's Brice Griffin, founder of the Charlotte Center for Women, a pro-life ministry, who experienced 10 years of personal shame after her abortion, eventually finding comfort and forgiveness among friends and family who came alongside her.

And Béatrice Fedor, another woman who had two abortions before she was married, described the emotional pain she felt and the nightmares she experienced as a result of her decision.

"Abortion impacts us long after we leave the clinic," she said. "We can’t suppress motherhood now and start again when the stars are aligned. Women deserve choices they can live with."

Johnson, Green, Granger, Griffin and Fedor are using their stories to show the harmful side effects they claim to have experienced following abortion. While their stories in many ways differ from one another, they also share some striking similarities in how they struggled emotionally with the choice.

Their blog post detailing these stories follows news of 25-year-old Emily Letts who recently filmed her own abortion procedure to "show women that there is such thing as a positive abortion story."

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Front page image via Shutterstock