Woman gives graphic account of abortion — and explains why she supports 20-week abortion ban

Theresa Bonopartis, director of Lumina — an organization that helps women through the devastating mental and emotional aftereffects of abortion — wrote an op-ed for The Federalist, where she detailed the gripping tale of her own abortion.

What was her abortion like?

Bonopartis gave a candid account of her abortion when her unborn child was at 16 weeks of gestation.

She revealed that she was "coerced" into obtaining the abortion by her father, who took her to the hospital for a saline abortion:

Some things are implanted in your mind forever, and no matter how much time passes, the events are as vivid today as when they took place. For me, the death of my unborn child at 16 weeks of gestation was such an event.

She revealed that during the abortion, the saline solution injected into her body resulted in the "thrashing around" of her unborn son inside her womb "as his body burned."

"I can still see him lying on the bed next to me as I stared in disbelief," she wrote, adding:

I could not believe that this was legal. What was wrong with us that we had allowed this? My mind could not wrap around it, as I looked at his tiny hands and feet. How could this be possible? Yet it was, right there on the maternity ward where the woman next door to me was celebrating the birth of her child.

She later revealed that she'd named her son Joshua and said she was "certain that he suffered greatly" during her abortion.

"I led a life of destruction and misery for years after that until I finally found the help I needed to heal and forgive myself," she said.

Why is she backing the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act?

Bonopartis addressed a bill that will be brought to the House floor for vote on Tuesday.

The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, sponsored by Rep. Trent Franks (R- Ariz.), would ban abortions after 20 weeks' gestation, except in cases such as rape or for life-saving purposes.

Currently, in seven states and the District of Columbia, there are zero restrictions on late-term abortion.

"I pray it passes but, sadly, I have no doubt that many will vote against it," Bonopartis said,  adding, "We have gone from making abortion 'rare and legal' to enshrining it for all nine months at the expense of everything, including the long-term impact on the mothers we profess to care about."

Bonopartis lamented the normalization of abortion in her essay and asked, "How did our country come to this? Can average people continue to do nothing just because they feel it will never affect them?"

"When will we honestly look at the repercussions of our more than 40 years of abortion legality, with 60 million unborn babies dead and countless numbers of mothers, fathers, and others suffering?" she mused.

Bonopartis concluded her piece by thanking supporters of the bill.

"I am so proud and grateful to [Rep. Kevin] McCarthy, Rep. Christopher Smith, Rep. Diane Black, and the others who continue to bring the truth of the horrors of abortion to the floor," Bonopartis wrote. "Hopefully, our humanity will come through as this act is brought to a vote and the innate good that abides in each of us will win out, making late-term abortions a thing of the past."